Drunk Driving

Victim Impact Panel

Below is MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) on Victim Impact Panels.

The DUI Victim Impact Panel Program is an awareness program for offenders convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.  The panels consist of a non-confrontational presentation consisting of crime victims telling their own personal stories of how impaired drivers forever changed their lives.  The panel presents a unique perspective to the offender that is often overlooked or simply cannot be taught by the courts and the DUI offender schools.

The program was created with the purpose of helping to restore the health and well-being of victims of drunk driving crashes. In addition, it shows offenders first-hand about the trauma, physical pain, emotional suffering and devastation, financial loss, anger and frustration that is commonly experienced by innocent victims and their family members resulting from a DUI-related crash.

http://www.madd.org/local-offices/co/victim-impact-panels/victim-impact-panels.html

They did a good job of stating the obvious reasons for victim impact panels.  They let you see how people who have committed the same offense affected someone else’s life.  They do not have happy endings.  These are people without legs and mothers who have lost children.  A Victim Impact Panel is not pleasant. If you did not hurt someone in while drunk driving you will feel lucky.  And you should, because you are lucky.

 

Some states allow for an online victim impact panel.  This was not the case in my day.  You had to go to an auditorium and listen.  It was very inconvenient and expensive.  It was supposed to be.  The victim impact panel may be the worst thing that happens to you while straightening out your drunk driving charges.  It was for me.

Take a look at this online Victim Impact Panel:

http://www.onlineimpactpanel.com/

 

Here are a couple of YouTube videos from a Vermont Victim Impact Panel.  A quick search of YouTube for “victim impact panel drunk driving” will yield numerous more results.

 

 

Normal URL to video 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfV1yvN1f4g&hd=1

 

 

Normal URL to video 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s26Oz2RIZTM&hd=1

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