Wisconsin is a state known for many things: cheese, football, and drinking. The culture of drinking is, out of these three one of the most prominent one of them all, particularly in our area of LaCrosse, Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, there is a total of 3,043 bars with 360 in LaCrosse alone. But with the drinking culture comes the issue known as drunk driving. Over the years, though it seems it’s getting worse and worse with each passing year as many are getting busted with DUI’s and OUI’s. In 2012 alone, 33,000 people were convicted of drunken driving related offenses in Wisconsin alone (Drunk Driving/Alcohol Related Traffic Offenses, 2014). Also, in a recent study done by the U.S. Department of Health and Services, Wisconsin had the highest rate …show more content…
The problems, the people involved, and the reason why it is difficult to solve for the police departments and courts will explain why it is such a challenge to enforce. Drunken driving, is defined as, operating a motor vehicle with blood alcohol content is above the legal limit set by statute, which supposedly is the level at which a person cannot drive safely(The Free Dictionary, 2014). Drunken driving is broken down into different branches based for the drunken driving terminology; these include, DUI (Driving Under the Influence and OUI (Operating Under the Influence) (The Free Dictionary, 2014). A DUI is defined as the crime of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol (The Free Dictionary 2014). The term DUI, dates back to 1969 when it was first used to describe the criminal act (The Free Dictionary, 2014). The term OUI, is defined as operating any vehicle in any way under the influence of alcohol, even if they are just sitting in the back …show more content…
Yet, what leads to drunk driving? Well, one issue, particularly in our state is its culture. The drinking and driving belief is very much influenced by social behaviors and attitudes and that is no more evident than here in our state of Wisconsin. In a state that has Oktoberfest, our biggest issue in solving the problem of drunk driving is our drinking culture itself. For example, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did an article on this issue drinking and driving back in 2008 that discussed how many citizens have driven home with BAC almost triple the legal limit, and made it home just fine (Poston, Romell, 2008). But, they got off lucky; over the past decade, 225 people have been killed in alcohol related crashes and in Grafton, Ozaukee County, 64 percent of drunk driving offenders are repeat offenders in their city of 11,481 people (Wis. lawmakers want to make state 's drunk-driving laws more stringent, 2013). Overall in the state, 38.6 percent of offenders convicted of Driving under the influence were repeat offenders in 2011 (Wis. lawmakers want to make state 's drunk-driving laws more stringent, 2013). D.A. Adam Gerol of Ozaukee County has brought forth that the tougher laws are working, but the tougher laws are also showing that it isn’t working as a whole if people are going to keep drinking and driving after 10 DUI’s (Wis. lawmakers want to make state 's drunk-driving laws more stringent,
The facts are plain and simple, that alcohol and driving do not mix. About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol related crash at some time in their lives. Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is totally preventable. To curb this national travesty, concerned Americans need to examine the problems, the effects, and the solutions to drunk driving. First of all, America has had a problem with drunk driving since Ford perfected the assembly line. Alcoholism is a problem in and of itself, but combined with driving can have a wide range of effects. The consequences of this reckless behavior can include a first time DUI or licenses suspension; a small fender bender, or worst of all a deadly crash. Most drivers that have only one or two drinks feel fine, and assume they are in control, which is irresponsible and dangerous. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the body's ability to react and impairs judgment. To drive well, you need to be able to have a quick reaction time to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, people continue to drink and drive. However,...
As you can see, drunk driving can cause many tragedies on a family or just the nation in general. Many people think that if we lower the Body Alcohol Content than there wouldn’t be as many people getting injured or killed a year. The question “Should tougher DUI laws be enacted?” is yet to be answered, but maybe in there next few years we will get an
Did Brady violate Michigan Law by knowingly allowing minors to consume alcohol on her real property where she was present in hosting a social gathering for her daughter’s birthday.
Officer Stamets and Pastucka assisted Officer Hand from the Frackville Boro. Police with a reckless driving complaint. An individual reported a white Ford sedan travelling northbound on State Route 61 towards the borough of Frackville. The caller reported that the vehicle was travelling all over the roadway. Officer Hand advised he observed a white Ford sedan while he was stationary near Anthony's Pizza and Sub's. The vehicle came to an absurd halt when the female operator observed the police car, stopping in the middle of the travel lane of State Route 61. Afterwards the operator accelerated and continued northbound on State Route 61. While travelling on State Route 61 Officer Hand observed the operator's vehicle swaying in the roadway nearly crossing the double yellow lines and then aggresively swayed right travelling against the
“Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third. The speedway ends at the cemetery” (Rockne). Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol related crashes totals more than 51 billion. In Recent discussions of drunk driving, a controversial issue has been whether the driving while intoxicated laws should be increased due to the amount tax payers are paying for drunk driving crashes. On the one hand. Some argue that the driving laws for driving drunk should remain the same and not change. From this perspective the laws about driving under the influence should greatly increase to be stricter, this will help decrease the death rate per year in the United States. On the other hand, however others argue that the laws about driving while drunk are already too strict and should remain unchanged. In sum, then, the issue is whether the laws about driving drunk should be greatly increased to be more effective, or remain unchanged. Because drunk driving can result in unnecessary and premature deaths, unsafe roadways, billions of dollars spent on taxpayers due to DUI’S, and losing a loved one. Drunk driving laws should be altered to be more efficient.
Drunk driving has been an increasing problem for many years. One issue that contributes to this is that in the United States it is actually legal to drive with a certain alcohol percentage. The blood alcohol limit is 0.8 percent (Drunk Driving). This means that a person may drive legally as long as they have a blood alcohol percentage of 0.8 percent or under. However, even at a percentage of 0.3 there may be some impairment of alertness and concentration (Drunk Driving). Driving requires fast reflexes that may be impaired at a 0.5 percent blood alcohol level but a person with this level of intoxication is not legally drinking and driving. Many people are arrested for drunk driving. In 2009, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving while under the influence (Drunk Driving). In addition, “an average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before their first arrest” (Get Involved). Therefore, there were a minimum of 112 million accounts of drunk driving in 2009 alone. Drunk drivers also cause an increasing number of deaths. Drunk drivers in the United States c...
There is knocking at a door late at night, and there a policeman standing at the door with information that a family member was in an accident that involved a drunk driver. This is one of those things people hear and believe that it will not happen, but it happens every day. Every 40 minutes, someone in the U.S. is killed by a drunk driver and in 2008, in Montana, 40 percent of all traffic fatalities involved DUIs (“Drunk Driving” 1). Drunk Driving affects everyone and people in Montana should look at what other states do to find ways to make the laws tougher and more enforced.
Main Point I: I’d like to start off by talking about the penalties of drinking and driving. Did you know that drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime? A chronic drunk driver is a person who has driven over 1,000 times before being caught. They do not respond to social pressures, law enforcement, and the messages that have been combined to reform the drinking and driving behavior of our society.
Driving under the influence is extremely dangerous. Those who drink and drive tend to have an increased risk of car accidents, highway injuries, and vehicular fatalities. However, there are countless ways to prevent drunk driving. Professor David J. Hanson at the sociology department at the State University of New York states that “designated drivers have saved nearly 50,000 lives and spared many more thousands of people from suffering injury from drunk driving. It is a proven fact that almost 30 people in the US die every day in a motor vehicle accident involving a driver impaired by alcohol.” Every accident caused by drunk driving is one hundred percent preventable.
Jody was born biologically with male genitals and he was brought up as a boy. Unlike his more gender-typical older brother, Jody’s childhood behavior was considered “sissy”. Jody genetically preferred the company of girls compared to boys during childhood. Jody considered herself a bisexual male until the age of 19. At 19 years of age, she became involved with a man, and her identity would be transgender, meaning that Jody was unhappy with her gender of birth and seeks a change from male to female. It would seem that there was some late-onset dissatisfaction, and late-onset is linked to attraction to women; in comparison to early childhood-onset, which are attracted to men. Jody identified herself as bisexual. The relationship with the man ended; nevertheless, Jody’s desire to become a woman consumed her, and Jody feels that’s he was born in the
Driving under the influence is measured by a person’s blood alcohol level (BAC). BAC is determined by the concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream. Individual counties and states have their own legal level on blood alcohol percentages that they measure a person’s BAC to determine if they are intoxicated while behind the wheel. “Everywhere in the United States it is illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher” (DUI Foundation).
Driving under the influence is one of the most common and dangerous situations in which anyone can be or be placed. Drinking and driving is a serious offence that can cause someone to be physically harm or even killed. Not only are you putting yourself at risk but you are also risking the lives of passengers in the car as well as any other car and occupants sharing the road with you. Many people believe that increasing fines for drunk driving offenders will play a compelling role in cutting down the occurrences of driving under the influence. However, while harsher DUI laws will look effective on paper, they will not make a significant step in the fight against drunk driving. Although there is a law enforced for drinking and driving in the
The growing awareness of alcohol hazards has made people more cautious of their drinking habits, particularly young adults. At present young adults have the highest prevalence of alcohol consumption than any other age group. They also drink more heavily, experience more negative consequences, and engage in more harmful activities, specifically drunk driving. Although surveys have documented a decline in recent years, consumption rates remain highest from late teen years to the late twenties (Johnston1-3). Despite the long-term decline since 1982 in alcohol related traffic deaths, a 4 percent increase occurred between 1994 and 1995 among young adults age 21 and over (Hingson 4). As alcohol-impaired driving persists, legal and community initiatives intervene to help reduce the problem, as well as, continuing research on possible solutions.
When someone makes the decision to consume alcoholic beverages, it should go without saying that they should also be choosing to be a responsible drinker. Being a responsible drinker means not consuming more alcohol than their body can handle and more importantly, not getting behind the wheel of any type of vehicle after drinking. In an article written by high school student Steven Engler, he says it well; “If you choose to use it, do it responsibly, and don’t put anyone’s life in danger, including your own.” (New York Times, 2003) No matter the person’s age or the type of alcohol consumed, alcohol lowers a person’s inhibitions and ability to think clearly, while also increasing their chances of engaging in risky activities. It is possible for a person to have a few drinks, relax and have a good time however, all too often people overdo it and end up making bad decisions that they most often regret. Many times, the worst of these decisions is convincing themselves that they are “fine” and what they drank will not impair their driving. Some may say that these individuals simply “made a mistake.” Yes, everyone does make mistakes however, driving while intoxicated is not a mistake that affects only them, it is something that affects and risks the lives of many people and themselves. The sad thing is that drunk driving is one hundred percent preventable and therefore the loss of lives due to the recklessness of drinking and driving is preventable as well. Mr. Bloomberg hit the nail on the head when he said “Simply put, drunk driving is selfish, criminal and it kills, and we are not going to tolerate it.” (New York Times, 2002) Drinking and driving is a selfish act made by a person who seemingly does not care about the people around th...
In 1989, lawmakers became extremely concerned with the dramatic increase in drunken driving, thus banned happy hour in several states including Illinois. Only in relatively recent news has the legislation been uplifted. The lawmakers followed a lead spearheaded by DuPage County, which concluded that the most optimal solution towards remedying binge drinking and drunken driving was to ban happy hour. In the years prior to the establishment of the law making happy hour illegal, it was recorded that alcohol-related crashes made up almost 50 percent of all fatal crashes in the state of Illinois. In 2012, it was 41 percent. In this literature, the opinions of several people are voiced from both ends of the spectrum in the matter at hand. The following