I knew we had a better rate here (Netherlands), I was not aware of the massive difference. But I am aware of the different perspective on breaking the law.

In high school, we had a day trip to the courthouse, where we sat in the audience and watched real people getting real sentences. The judge apologized in advance, because nearly every case was of people getting caught driving above the limit. Most cases involved people who had a little bit too much in them, who thought that they were perfectly capable of driving. They were pleading their asses off, telling them how sorry they were, how they had a job which required them to drive all day. Most of them got a pretty hefty fine, lost their license for a couple of months and sometimes had to do community service, e.g. cleaning up the streets. That doesn't necessarily mean they got away easily though. They were often relatively poor people, already turning over every penny. Some of them told that they would probably lose their job because they lost their driving license.

Still, it is I think a much fairer punishment than to put them behind bars. If I got caught, had to go through the humiliating process of standing before a judge, I would damn well never put myself at risk again. Return rates are low. And if they are caught again, the punishments get increasingly worse. I think it's a much more humane way of handling people who break the law as, you know, people.