A study conducted at the University of Florida in Gainesville suggests the threat of jail time does not deter drunk drivers. That stems primarily from the fact that most people who drive after drinking do not think they will be stopped for suspicion of DUI.

Researchers, led by Professor Alexander Wagenaar, looked at changes in DUI laws and jail penalties for drunk driving offenses from a 17 year period and compared them against the number of DUI arrests and alcohol related vehicular deaths. They found that stricter laws and harsher penalties do not deter people from drinking and driving. Nor did they reduce the number of alcohol related accidents.

Wagenaar said, “There are many in the general public who continue to drive after drinking because they don’t really believe that they’re going to be detected, pulled over, caught and go through the process to be convicted before a jail term would come into play.”

The study has been published in the Accident Analysis and Prevention section of sciencedirect.com.

James Posey, forward for the Miami Heat, was arrested for Florida DUI early Monday when police pulled him over for stopping in the middle of a road.

Posey blocked traffic on a double-lane road in Miami Beach around 3:50 am and started talking to pedestrians and people in other cars. According to the police report, Posey dropped his driver’s license when he was handing it to the officer. When asked to pick it up, the 6’8” athlete was unsteady on his feet. He also exhibited slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. He later failed a field sobriety test.

It turns out Posey showed a driver’s license from Texas, as his Florida license is suspended. He was arrested for drunk driving and driving without a license and taken to Miami-Dade County jail. He was released after posting a $1,000 bond.

The Miami Heat organization declined comment. It is not known if Posey will join the team for a game Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Posey stands to make about $6.4 million this season with the defending NBA champions.

Strolling through the park in Ohio – Steven S. Cole, a firefighter from Mason, Ohio, was arrested and charged with drunk driving, disorderly conduct and public indecency after he was spotted in a local park wearing a bikini and woman’s wig. Cole, 46, had on a “very skimpy woman’s blue bikini with two tan water balloons taped to the top to simulate two woman’s breasts and a pair of pink Speedo flip-flop sandals.”

On thin ice in New Jersey – A judge decided operating a Zamboni drunk does not constitute New Jersey DWI. John Peragallo was arrested after a fellow employee told police that Peragallo was speeding on the machine and nearly crashing into walls. Peragallo, 64, admitted to drinking beer and vodka and taking pills while on the job but the judge ruled the four-ton ice-cleaning machine isn’t a motor vehicle because it can’t be used on a highway.

Horsing around in Alabama – A Henagar, Alabama woman was arrested for taking a midnight ride on her horse while intoxicated. Melissa Byrum York, 40, resisted stopping for police and even rammed a police car with the horse. She was apprehended after trying to jump from the horse and getting her foot caught in a stirrup. She was charged with Alabama DUI for riding a horse under the influence of a controlled substance.

Not getting far in Pennsylvania– Bernard George Borek, 51, of Columbia Crossroads, Pennsylvania attempted to elude police by backing down a steep embankment. But he passed out behind the wheel of his 1983 Chevrolet Celebrity, and was taken into custody and charged with Pennsylvania DUI.

Police were dispatched around 4:00 am Tuesday to a southwest Austin intersection after calls of a driver passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle. An Austin-Travis County EMS arrived before police and what happened next lead to a Texas DWI arrest and an internal investigation.

Paramedics Aaron Langford and Steven Peek found a former associate, Brian J. Angeline, passed out in his Chevrolet Tahoe, with the engine running. They notified dispatch that the police were not needed at the scene and then moved Angeline’s vehicle to a nearby parking lot.

The police arrived on the scene anyway though and the paramedics tried to keep the officers from Angeline. Police reports from the incident say that one of the paramedics said, “If this was one of your own, you would do the same thing we are.” The EMS crew also said they would take Angeline home.

Police determined that Angeline had been partying on Sixth Street until 2:30 am. He smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred his speech and was swaying. He refused to submit to a breath test and failed a field sobriety test. Angeline was taken to the Travis County Jail and charged with suspicion of misdemeanor Texas DWI.

The two paramedics are now under subject of an internal investigation. Langford and Peek have been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

Angeline, 32, resigned from Austin-Travis County EMS in April 2005, after six years of employment. An EMS spokesman said Angeline resignation stemmed from a recommendation that he be fired for attendance problems.

In North Carolina you can be charged with driving while intoxicated for operating a lawn mower or bicycle while drunk. Last December a new state law lifted DWI exceptions for those ‘vehicles’.

Some say that bicyclists can create traffic hazards and ‘drunk riders’ need to be caught. Law enforcement officials say arresting drunk bicyclists is not a priority though they admit that if there is a clear violation, they will enforce the law. North Carolina DWI defense lawyers feel those who are legally drunk are doing the right thing by opting for a bicycle rather than driving a car.

Not much empathy is extended to drunk lawn mower operators though. Sgt. David Register, of the Wilmington police department said, “No one needs to be driving a lawn mower on the road drunk. It’s asking for trouble.” To be charged with North Carolina DWI, a person has to be riding a bicycle or lawnmower on a public street.

An statewide exception remains for riding a horse while intoxicated.

Lightning striking twice in Washington – The day before his birthday, Domingo Ramos-Garcia of Aberdeen was arrested one afternoon for drunk driving. As he was 17, he was released to his father. Five hours later, the same police deputy stopped Ramos-Garcia again, only he was booked after midnight when he had turned 18 years-old. Ramos-Garcia was charged as an adult for Washington DUI, and jailed.

Lining ‘em up in Pennsylvania – As an officer in Cumberland County Pennsylvania was checking on a disabled vehicle around 5:30 am, a man pulled up and asked about the car’s occupants. The officer determined Jason Swartz, 28, of Carlisle was intoxicated and Swartz was arrested for Pennsylvania DUI and careless driving.

Making a fashion statement in Ohio – The mayor of Norton, Ohio resigned after being arrested for Ohio OVI/DUI. Police in the west Cleveland suburb of Bay Village found Joseph Kernan passed out at the wheel of his truck with his shirt on backward.

Barely scratching the surface in Florida – Ryan Bonawitz, 30, was clearly in trouble after striking two cars and leaving the scene. The employee of a Clearwater company named Bottom-Scratchers Inc. made things worse by attacking the arresting officer with his knees and skull and biting the deputy’s finger. Bonawitz was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, resisting an officer with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer and Florida DUI.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Attorney’s office has stated that they feel they have sufficient evidence to convince a judge that Paris Hilton violated the terms of probation stemming from her September 2006 DUI arrest. Nick Velasquez said, “We’re confident we have sufficient evidence to prove that her license was suspended and that she had knowledge of that suspension.”

Hilton was ticketed in west LA on February 27 after being spotted by police speeding and driving without headlights at 11:00 pm. She was charged with driving with a suspended license and her $200,000 2007 blue Bentley Continental GTC, a Christmas present to herself, was impounded.

In January, the 26-year old star of the television reality show ‘Simple Life’ plead no-contest to a charge of California DUI. In addition to being sentenced to three years of probation, she was required to attend an alcohol abuse awareness program, pay fines and her license was suspended.

Prosecutors are now asking a judge to revoke Hilton’s probation. If a judge agrees, she could face up to 90 days in jail. A hearing is set for April 17.

A Pennsylvania State House member has introduced legislation that would require an ignition interlock device be installed on all cars manufactured for sale in the state, starting December 31, 2008. In addition, vehicle owners would be required to install such a device on all existing cars by the end of 2009.

The bill has been roundly criticized for its expense, its manipulation of Pennsylvania DUI statistics and for its failure to acknowledge that it is not illegal to drive after drinking responsibly.

The author of the bill introduced it to the House Committee on Transportation based on stories he had heard about college binge drinking and figures he had read on the number of alcohol related deaths in the state. The anti-drunk driving organization, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, states that Pennsylvania has the fourth highest number of alcohol related fatalities in the nation, though the ranking drops to 23rd when one factors in population.

The bill’s author was apparently unaware of the cost of ignition interlock systems, which would be paid for by vehicle owners. When told the cost would range between $700 and $1,200, he acted surprised and indicated that he might be more willing to accept amendments to his proposed legislation.

Organizations like the American Beverage Institute, which promotes “responsible consumption of adult beverages,” have spoken out against the bill as being over-reaching. The law would require an interlock device even if the vehicle owner did not drink. Typically ignition interlock devices are calibrated to disable a vehicle when .025% blood-alcohol content is detected. That level could be reached by a 170-pound male after consuming two beers in one hour. Pennsylvania law establishes .08% BAC as the threshold for being legally intoxicated.

Opponents feel that lawmakers are responding to pressure being put on them by organizations like MADD and by auto manufacturers. Several manufacturers, including Toyota and Volvo, are currently researching ignition interlock devices with an interest in making the systems part of their vehicle fleet.

Even other Pennsylvania State Legislators have expressed reservations about the bill, citing the expense and certain requirements. The author responded by hoping the bill initiates hearings on drunk driving and alcoholism.

A similar bill, that limits the scope to commercial vehicles like trucks and buses, is being debated in the New York State Legislature.

Taboo, singer with the Black Eyed Peas, was arrested for suspicion of California DUI.

Jaime Luis Gomez was arrested Tuesday morning after being involved in a minor crash in the eastern

Los Angeles suburb of City of Industry. Gomez, 31, was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of a medication without a prescription and driving under the influence.

Gomez, known as Taboo to fans, is part of the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas, which also includes Fergie, will.i.am and apl.de.ap. The group won this year’s Grammy for best pop performance by a group for their song ‘My Humps’.

Board members of the Village of Gurnee, Illinois, north of Chicago, recently approved ordinance aimed at penalizing drivers accused of Illinois DUI. Those stopped for suspicion of drunk driving can have their vehicle seized and be forced to pay the village $500 to the village plus storage charges to the towing company.

While the original content of the law called for mandatory towing, an exception allows the arresting officer the flexibility in permitting a sober passenger to drive the vehicle home without a fine.

The $500 charge for seizure of a vehicle will not be returned even if the accused motorist in found not guilty of driving under the influence in a court of law. However the driver can appeal the fine to an independent hearing officer hired by the village.

In addition the Gurnee, other suburban Chicago communities like Arlington Heights have similar DUI towing provisions.

Critics call the ordinance just a money making scheme for the village.