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Effect of drunk driving
Effect of drunk driving
Effect of drunk driving
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“Drinking and driving is very dangerous, particularly for adolescents! Since 1991, drinking and driving among high school students has decreased around 54%. Even though less teenagers are drinking and driving, it is still a major problem. After all, secondary school students still drive after drinking around 2.4 million times each month. According to a survey, 85% of teenagers in secondary school who reported drinking at least 5 mixed beverages in a few hours and driving after in the previous months. In 2010, 1 out of 5 teenage drivers associated with deadly crashes had some liquor in their body. The vast majority of these drivers (81%) had BACs* higher than the set limit for adults. It is unlawful for grown-ups to drive with a BAC of .08%
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,...
Drunk driving accidents are the number one killer of adolescents (Teenagers and peer pressures. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from). Mixing drinking while driving can be deadly. Teenage drunk driving accidents not only affect the person drinking while driving, but it also can kill or harm others (Alcohol problems and solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from) (Teen drinking and driving. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from) . Every single accident provoked by drinking and driving could have been prevented. If underage drinking is illegal, why do young people do it ? Teenagers usually are influenced by their elders (Alcohol problems and solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from). In the United States, one out of ten 12 through 14 year olds have tried alcohol and continue to do so on a regular basis . There is a more than fifty percent of probability that young adults that have tried alcohol at a younger age may become alcoholics in the near future (Alcohol fatalities. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from). So, why do teenagers take so many risks with their health and behind the wheel? The answer is simple teen drivers tend to think they are invincible and more needs to be done to educate teens on the dangers of drinking and driving.
Each year, about 5,000 teens are killed or injured in traffic crashes as a result of underage drinking and about 1,900 are due to car accidents. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation) In the newsletter, safety in numbers by National highway traffic administration and U.S department of transportation “Of all the people who died in motor vehicle crashes during 2012, 31 percent died in crashes involving a drunk driver, and this percentage remains unchanged for the past 10 years” (Vol 1, 2013). Crashes involving alcohol include fatal crashes in which a driver had a BAC of .01 g/ ld. or higher (Underage Drinking Statistics)). Deadly crashes involving alcohol are twice as common in teens compared to people 21 and older. This is because teens’ judgment skills are harmed more by alcohol. Teens who drink not only risk hurting themselves, they risk hurting their friends, family, and even strangers when driving intoxicated. Teens and parents both need a strong reminder that underage drinking is illegal and can have disastrous consequences. According to Health Day News, “one study found that in 2011, 36 percent of U.S. college students said they'd gone binge drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting) within the past two weeks, as compared to 43 percent of college students in 1988. Since 2006, the current law has reduced the rate of drunk driving crashes among young Americans” (Preidt, 2014 and DeJong, 2014). This proves that lives have been saved after the legal drinking age increased. According to an article in Time Magazine called “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?”, “lowering the drinking age to 18 would stop infantilizing college students, but it would probably kill mor...
The use of alcohol by adolescents is implicated in about one third of all fatal crashes involving teens.
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...
In an attempt to combat the issue of DUIs, a national minimum BAC level of 0.02 has also been set for drivers under age twenty one and has reportedly saved hundreds of lives for drivers between the ages of eighteen to twenty years. Educational programs in schools and communities focused on the advantages of using “designated drivers” as well as public education and lobbying groups; such as Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) have also yielded positive effects in the reduction of DUIs (Levinthal, 2011).
The media's view of adolescence, alcohol and driving is extremely clear. Almost every article, report or documentary on these things (especially when they are combined) portrays irresponsibility, danger and/or violence and aggression. To put it more clearly the media's view on the situation that occurs or can occur when adolescents are left to make their own decisions or choices is that any given adolescent will choose to drink alcohol and most likely choose to drive while under the influence. Here are a few examples (extracted from articles, publications and the web) of how the media views adolescents, alcohol and driving: · Use of alcohol and other drugs is associated with the leading causes of death and injury (eg. vehicle crashes) among teenagers and young adults. (Centers for Disease Control {CDC}, "Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among High School Students--United States, 1990," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report {MMWR}, 11/91, p. 776).
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and about one-third of those are alcohol related. Don’t be that person that lets a drunken driver on the streets; be the difference.
According to C. Engs, research from the 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease in drinking and driving related variable which has parallel the nations and also university students, decre...
Drinking and driving is a major problem in the US today for many different reasons. Sometimes, it is a problem because people think they can have couple drinks and still be coherent. They think to themselves, “I’m not going far, I’ll be okay”...
“A Review of the Literature on the Effects of Low Doses of Alcohol on Driving-Related skills” from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), shows that people who drink within the legal BAC level also exhibit cases of impaired driving. The study reported that a 0.01-0.019 BAC level may cause impairments such as drowsiness, tracking, cognitive tasks, and psychomotor skills. A 0.02-0.029 BAC level may cause impairments related to choice reaction times, visual functions, and vigilance. These very subtle changes may be barely noticeable to the individual or people around, but in an emergency situation behind the wheel of a vehicle, they could end up being the deciding factor for and fatal accident (Moskowitz, Fiorentino,
Drunk driving would be reduced in the United States if the minimum drinking age remains twenty-one. For example, “When the drinking age was lowered, there were more deaths among teens on the highway” (“underage drinking and the drinking age”, par13). Alcohol has been a problem with children and teenagers under the age of eighteen. Adolescents
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.
Binge drinking have caused safety risks in motor vehicle crashes, drunk-driving arrests, sexual assaults, and injuries as National Institute on Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism presents it. In addition, Dr. Iconis (2014) states that students who are under the influence of alcohol are most likely to be arrested by policies that a student does not binge drink or does not drink at all. College students who binge drink are usually unable to control their own actions in just a few hours and can cause a lot of problems for themselves and to their peers. Considering these students can’t even control their own actions, how could they be expected to drive home safely? The answer is simple; many of them don’t. Furthermore, many students are either caught for DUI (drunk driving) or they get into car accidents. These accidents can cause many different injuries or even death. So, it is not only dangerous for the person who binge drink but also for the society and the people around
Many people in the United States enjoy a drink of their favorite alcoholic beverage. It could be a nice ice cold beer after a hard day of work or going to the bar and enjoying a few shots or mixed drinks with friends. Drinking alcohol is a common way to mingle with friends and take the edge off a difficult day. However, there are dangers involved with alcohol since it does dampen the body’s ability to cope with new information. Alcohol becomes a poison to the body when consumed in large quantities. The biggest danger is not to the driver after they become inebriated, but comes to anyone the drunk driver comes in contact with. A sober person can be dangerous just by being distracted, but a drunk driver’s ability to cope with changing situations and distractions is one of the biggest hazards on today’s roads. Some individuals believe that they are not as impaired as what they are led to believe from government ads and the many videos that show what can happen to someone who is drinking and driving. Although, there are many policies in place to advocate against drunk driving, there are those who would endanger themselves and others with their thoughtless actions when they jump into the driver’s seat of a vehicle. Drinking and driving should never be combined because a person who has been drinking does not have the ability to use all mental faculties unimpaired, many people have been killed, injured, or psychologically hurt by a drunk driver, many men and women do not know the difference weight and gender have on the body’s ability to process alcohol, and the financial and legal trouble that is awaiting for those convicted by a DUI.