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I'm 61 years old and I grew up in a culture where drinking and driving was tolerated by society and binge drinking was a rite of passage for youth.  At a problematic time in my life I chose to numb myself with drinking and yes this included driving frequently while drunk.  I got a DUI, took the diversion option, went through the classes, drank the whole time I was taking classes, got slapped on the hand and went back to my old ways with a suspended liscense  I as many of the people in my diversion class did not take the opportunity to change my behavior.  I just had the attitiude that I had slipped up by getting caught and that I wouldn't get caught again. There was no behavior change.  I got caught a second time and while waiting for the hearing got a wakeup call from a girl friend who told me a was an alcoholic and needed to quit drinking  I had never thought of myself as a drunk.  An option for me was the DISP [DUI Intensive Superviion Program] which I entered  I had 60 days of electronic monitering, weekly at first and then monthly meetings with a probation officer.  I had to attend two AA meetings a week and couldn't leave state without permission  I was subject to random urine sampling and had to pass lie detector tests for three years  It was very humbling but I followed the requirements to a tee and have been sober for seven years  The get tough approach that I voluntarily accepted worked in my case  The electronic monitering was absolutely terrible.  I would never want to go through that again.  I also had a work acquaintance kill a local girl in a car accident about the same time while driving under the influence.  He was sentenced to many years in prison and may be still in jail today I realized that could have been me.  I feel that the diversion option for lst time DUI offenders is too lenient as there are too many repeat offenders  Some type of limited time electronic monitering would be quite a bit more effective in deterring future behavior

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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