Phelps Arrested for Drunken Driving

[stallion]

One of the things that they told us (and that was stated in the instruction booklet they handed out) is that in Bulgaria, the penalty for a second offense for DUI is death.

Oh, you mean in the short run........I suppose if you're about to be pulled over, and it's your second offense, you might as well put the pedal to the metal, and either elude them or go out in style....

[Marlow]

in Bulgaria, the penalty for a second offense for DUI is death. In El Salvador, you never get to commit a second offense; the penalty for the first offense is execution by a firing squad!

Works for me! One offense is bad, and may be forgiveable, but the second one means you learned nothing and are a detriment to society . . . (said only half tongue-in-teetotaler-cheek).

[BillVol]

Pretty sure those are just urban legends. I couldn't find anything out there but that identical list. But I did notice that blood alcohol levels for DUI are lower in many countries, and penalties are stiffer. I'll bet one day the law in the US will be you cannot have any alcohol in your system if you are driving a vehicle. And the penalty will be a year in jail if you are caught and found guilty. That's probably the way it should be. If you want to drink, bring some home or get a taxi. That way we don't have drunk people wondering if they are below or above the limit driving a vehicle. That would mean no more stopping by the neighborhood bar for a couple on the way home, but something's got to give.

[tandfman]

That sure sounded like an urban legend, but after looking it up it appears to be true.

http://www.whatsdrivingyou.org/resource ... tries.html

Notwithstanding that cite, I'm still suspicious. I looked at Snopes before I posted it and couldn't find anything. I'm glad you found what you did. But the El Salvador thing still sounds almost unimaginable to me.

[BillVol]

That site is total BS, tandfman. Ain't nobody in the world (except for maybe the Taliban) gonna execute somebody for DUI.

[Athleticsimaging]

Gee, it's really hard to find out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_capital_punishment_by_nation

Although, I suppose that doesn't factor in the views the occasional death squad may have of DUI...

edit to add: from the Worldwide Brewing Alliance Drinking and Driving Report 2003

El Salvador At the 0.1g/100ml level – the penalty is seizure and above that the licence is suspended.

[tandfman]

That site is total BS, tandfman. Ain't nobody in the world (except for maybe the Taliban) gonna execute somebody for DUI.

I was glad to see the link posted by athleticsimaging, which seems to confirm that the site posted by guru (and the stuff that I got the other night) was indeed total BS. I'm not surprised. (I say "seems to" because it is, after all, Wikipedia and we know that not everything that appears there is right. This article, however, seems to be backed up by links to other apprently reputable sites. Moreover, it makes a lot more sense than the "info" that was given to me at the driving course.)