Drunk drivers ARE intentional criminals.
Is it a known fact that the probability of causing a collision increases if one is intoxicated?
If YES, then one who becomes intoxicated on purpose, is willfully engaging in behavior that they know will increase the probability of a collision. Their disregard of the increased risk is indeed a form of malice itself.
Same can be said for other "distractions" - texting, sex, sleeping...
Originally Posted by Submodo
Driving while intoxicated is careless and negligent, but it's not malicious. No drunk person gets into their car thinking, "I'm gonna go out and hit somebody and cause as much damage as I can.."
Criminal law is supposed to be about protecting society from malicious intent, the "guilty mind," or mens rhea, of malfactors.
When someone causes an accident because they're drunk they should be held completely responsible under civil law. They should be found negligent, but not criminally culpable of a crime.
Throwing drunk drivers in prison for years and years acomplishes absolutely nothing, and degrades the law and all of society.
If someone drives drunk and causes no accident then what's the freakin problem?
Some people just like to complicate things and stir up turmoil, and even disturb the peace.
Crusaders, zealots, liberals, finger-pointers and the police who believe in them, result in a lot of disturbances of what would otherwise be a peaceful society.
As far as the deaths that result, that's terrible, but it doesn't help the harmed to claim that it was intentional when it wasn't. It doesn't help to make claims about intent that aren't really there. When you do that you're just getting angry and overlooking the truth, and the law should try to aproximate the truth.