License suspension is appropriate for DUI

Firstly, you're absolutely right about the mislabeling. I should have labeled the debate with the caveat 'on the first offense.' Further offenses require much more individual care and consideration than I think we can fairly debate. However, I believe you misinterpreted the statistics on recidivism rates that I provided. DUI has a recidivism rate of 35% whether license suspensions are given or not. This means people convicted of DUI are roughly twice as likely to NOT repeat their offense as are people who commit other crimes (68%). In other words, regardless of whether license suspensions are part of the punishment or not, DUI punishment/ reform is actually quite effective as it stands today (in most states). As I mentioned before, near the end of round 1, ignition interlocks further decrease recidivism rates. The lower the recidivism rates are the more successful our criminal justice system appears to be. In terms of cost, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the savings to the public to be approximately $3 to $7 for every dollar spent on ignition interlock systems (http://www.lifesafer.com...). Combine those savings with the current $182 billion dollar cost of DUI in this country and saying license suspensions are somehow cheaper seems a lot less reasonable. Especially when you consider 1.2 million people receive DUI's every year. If license suspensions are enacted (which they currently are in all 50 states), that's a potential of 1.2 million working Americans that could be forced into temporary unemployment. That doesn't help our economy. What does help our economy though, is 1.2 million DUI convicts who would need to have their ignition interlock systems installed and maintained. Because there is an absence of data pertaining to the proportion of DUI convicts who wouldn't be able to afford ignition interlock systems, we can only speculate. However, whatever the proportion is, even if it's 100%, it cannot cost more than the $0.00 that is earned by those who have suspended licenses and are unable to work. Because ignition interlock systems save the government money, as I mentioned above, those who cannot afford interlock systems can likely have them subsidized by the government. The government can use a portion of the savings and still have a net decrease in costs. I am also in favor of those who would prefer to have their license suspended to be able to make that choice. That choice should be taken into account though if they decide to drive on their suspended license. In sum, saying license suspensions are more costly than ignition interlock systems is largely unfounded. Therefore, ignition interlock systems are more effective and cheaper than license suspensions, based on the numerous sources of data that I have provided. If a punishment is cheaper and more effective and grants the convicted more freedom, what more could a government expect? As an aside, I must say that DUI punishment has nothing to do with injury, crashes, death, or reckless driving. If you research the potential crimes that one can be charged with, a much more significant charge would always come into play if anything other than the act of driving a vehicle while intoxicated has occurred. Let me explain, if, while drunk, someone is swerving, speeding, going through red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc., they would be charged with either 'aggravated DUI' or 'gross negligence.' If they crash or kill/ injure someone, they would be charged with 'murder,' 'attempted murder,' 'manslaughter,' attempted manslaughter,' or 'gross negligence.' In other words, DUI punishment is only relevant in terms of answering the question 'How are we going to stop people from drinking and driving?' Any attempt to punish them for other crimes is not only unfair it shows blatant ignorance of the legal system. More importantly, it will not reduce crime or increase justice. The answer is NOT license suspension. I believe the answer is ignition interlock systems and, potentially, psychiatric or addiction treatment.