[Pharmakon]

My wife got her start as an attorney in the U.S. and her first criminal cases as defense counsel were for drunk divers. It ended up driving (no pun) her away from defense work, because these guys were inveterate offenders and never got more than a slap on the wrist. The penalties on the books for DUI and the penalties actually administered are often miles apart. That may have changed in the last decade though, I can’t say.

[koolba]

What do you consider a slap on the wrist? Everyone I know that’s had a DUI lost their license for a min amount of time with exponential increases for repeat offenders (one month, then two years, then 10 years). And that’s only the ones that weren’t involved in a collision.

[tomjen3]

Lol, a month for the first offence?

Seriously in Denmark you get 20 days suspended prison if your are above 2.0 for a first offense. If you are above 1.2 you lose your license for a minimum of 3 years. If below 2, your fine is "only" your net salary for the month....

[fzeroracer]

Anecdotal, but I can confirm this as well. I've had extended family members get pulled over for (multiple!) DUIs while getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Nothing's really changed as long as you're of a certain demographic.

[bsder]

> never got more than a slap on the wrist

Everybody I know in California who got a DUI got quite penalized--it definitely stopped all of them cold so they would never have to go through the penalties again.

Maybe you can get away with DUI in the country club crowd, but certainly not lower than that.

[glenneroo]

You might enjoy Austria, where being drunk on your bicycle or as of recently electric scooter will cost you your drivers license.