I spent 6 months on a DUI/Alchohol enforcement task force once, and I don't think we will ever totally eliminate DUI/DWI.
However, I think thier are many steps that can be taking to try and deter people from doing it more so than we already have.
On any given night we pretty much had the ability to pull in as many drunks as we wanted. We could sit outside TGI Fridays or at certain flashing red lights etc. and wait for the drunks to come to us. We could cruise the roads and find drunks everywhere. I found that over 50% of those we arrested were repeat offenders, and off those over half were driving on a suspended license. So obviously the penalties, such as fines, points, suspension of licenses etc. do not work. They are all over the place, and they really don't seem to care.
I think a better approach would be confiscation of vehicle confiscation for repeat offendors, mandatory jailtime/community service/mandatory rehabilitation and ignition interlocks. etc. That may sound harsh, but something needs to be done. They caer about this stuff a lot more about that than a fine, a few hours of paperwork, and a court appearence.
Some of you are also getting overly carried away with the BAC "limit" as a determining factor. No DUI/DWI arrest is made solely on the BAC. Thier are many other factors such as smell, the Standardized Field Sobriety Test, Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, other evidence such as open or empty containers, and the subjects own statements etc.
I have probably testified in court about two dozen times in DWI cases and seen dozens of other officers testify. I have never once seen anyone say that well the defendant blew a .08 on the PBT, proceeded to ace the SFST, had no other standard indications of impariment, but I decided to arrest him and have him do the certified Breathlyzer anyway. Keep in mind that I also have the traffic offenses and observations such as speeding, weaving, etc. that I used as PC to effect the stop to begin with as additional testimony.
To claim that we are working on a numerically bsed system is total BS. Police Officers aren't robots and they do have training and experience along with the check of the judicial system to answer to. The limits are meaningless other than as additional guideline for charging. If I can testify to your impairment with a 0.0 BAC or I can have a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) testify to your impairment due to some other substance I can charge you regardless of your BAC.
It is a combination of observations that will get you arrested for BWI. Proceed with the stories about how "I was fine" "only had a few bears" "MADD SUCKS" excuses. now.
People who wine about the BAC when they don't understand how it fits into the overall procedure should do some more research, maybe do a ride along with your local police department. Learn a bit.