I gather by your retirement comment that you are basically an old guy sitting at home raging...
OK so far.
I have good reason to rage- against my own generation for the damn poor results of the part we played in raising and educating generations XYZ, most of whom turned out too stupid to chew gum and walk at the same time.
...against people who drive fast. Nothing new about people driving fast.
Not OK.
OP concerns the exceptional case of driving speeds 100 mph over the limit. Think you got it now, Junior?
Anyone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is more dangerous than someone driving 170 on an open flat road at 170 in a new ZR1. Doing 170 in a ZR1 is safer than was someone doing 100 in a 1952 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. So is running a redlight or going 10 over in a school zone. By your standards, at least 50,000,000 people should have be convicted of felony traffic violations as the first offense.
I am not going to go along with you on DUI being more dangerous than driving 100 over the limit. I guess I need to explain why because you sure as hell aren't the kind of person who can figure it out for himself.
In order to compare the hazards of DUI and driving 100mph over the speed limit it is necessary to imagine equal infraction rates and environments- in other words for every person driving home drunk at 30 in a 30 from the neighborhood bar there is one person driving home sober at 130. Please don't try to tell me you would feel safer with the sober guy doing 130.
Nor is there any reason to prefer the DUI under perfect conditions. Braking distance at 70mph is about 234 feet, and at 170mph is about 1381 feet (see link:
Stopping (Braking) Distance Calculator ). After adding reaction time even a 70mph DUI might be able to stop before hitting an obstacle 1000 feet away, but it would be
physically impossible for a cold sober 170mph driver to do so.
As for the DUI issue in general, I am all for increased penalties, possibly including 1st offence felony charges for people who are way over the limit. It might not be necessary to go that far, though. I understand that the Scandinavian (there's a word for you to look up!) countries have nearly cured their DUI problems with severe penalties which usually stop short of felony equivalent. One thing the US needs to get over is the aversion against even considering adopting policy of other countries. If something has been shown to work elsewhere we should try it ourselves, and that definitely includes anti-DUI legislation.
There are a lot of old folks around here (Florida) and the list of things they really don't like and bitch about that younger people do is endless.
Old folks everywhere have an endless list of legitimate bitches about the nitwit, clueless hordes of generation XYZers who still need help tying their shoelaces.
They can go berserk if someone's grass gets to tall. Bitchy old people who want everyone who does anything they don't do put in prison.
For most offenses I would prefer mandatory remedial schooling before prison. As in you go back and really study, and really learn all that stuff you missed while you were texting, listening to music, playing video games, picking your nose, and feeling yourself off in class.