Every 120 seconds a person is involved in a collision, every day 27 people are killed by a drunk driver, and every year thousands. In order to make these numbers drop dramatically, harsher, firmer laws need to be put in place. Everyone makes mistakes, however, a drunk driver will drive on average of 300,000 times before they are caught. That is 300,000 chances they are taking with not only their lives but every person they share the road with. Drunk driving deaths is among the top 5 things that kill in America.
According to the MADD website, every 2 minutes a person is either injured or killed in a drunk driving collision in the United States (www.madd.org). Every year, drinking and driving kills thousands because the
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These slight consequences make little or no difference or have them realize how dangerous it is. Every time an impaired person gets behind the wheel, they jeopardize many lives as well as their own. With the laws we have now results in people still getting behind the wheel to drive, claiming “they are fine”; knowing they should not. Statistics shows every day people drink and drive more than 300,000 times, only approximately 3,200 are arrested (www.madd.org). Overall, mandatory jail time for drunk drivers needs to be a law. Every person who drinks and drives threaten every driver on the road. Every day in the United States, at least 27 people die as result of drivers being impaired (www.madd.org). If there were laws in effect for first time or repeat offenders, it would decrease the amount of DUI related accidents. The University of British Columbia conducted a study, indicating how harsher …show more content…
However, a new rising problem has come up, women drunk drivers. The U.S. Transportation Department has released a study showing how there has been a 30% increase of female arrests from DUI’s. The same study shows that there has been a 7.5 decrease from men being arrested for drunk driving (Drunk Driving by Women). Male drivers tend to be caught more often than female due to men drinking in bars after work. Women are less likely to be caught driving under the influence because they tend to drink at home rather than in a bar. Statistics shows that every 51 minutes in the United States someone is killed in a drunk driving accident, that’s an equivalent to 27 people every day (www.dosomething.org). Instead of choosing to walk, take a cab, or have a designated driver, drivers choose to drive. By making the choice to drive under the influence, they are risking everything. In addition to choosing an alternative way home, repeat offenders would have to use the ignition interlock (Impaired Driving). Laboratory studies have shown that most drivers, even experienced drivers, are impaired with the low BAC level of 0.05 (Fell, J. C.). Additional studies have shown that most people who have a 0.05 BAC are impaired by 30-50% (Fell, J.C) Although harsher laws are controversial, implementing them would be beneficial to not only the drivers, but
I think that it is agreed by all parties that the prodigious number of sober drivers in our neighborhoods, city streets, and country roads is at present deplorable to the state of our great nation. Currently, a whopping ninety-eight percent of Americans of driving age feel threatened by those who drive under the influence of alcohol, which means that only two percent of Americans are able to fully relax and enjoy themselves while on the road, and with the growing awareness, this number could be on the rise (MADD Online: General Statistics 1). What a travesty! All drivers, and passengers alike, should be put at the same risk for danger, be it damage, injury, or death.
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
...result in unnecessary and premature deaths, unsafe roadways, billions of dollars spent on taxpayers due to DUI’S, and losing a loved one. Drunken driving laws should be altered to be more efficient. Not everyone dies in a drunken driving accident. Think before you drink, you only have one life, make sure to make the right decisions.
Drunk driving is a problem that we hear about every day and it is something that effects everyone, but it only becomes real when it affects us directly. What we don’t know is when a problem like drunk driving will become “real” for us. Drunk driving is an issue that has taken a toll on our country and should be stopped. Drunk driving has been an increasing problem for many years. It effects not only the driver but all of society. The good thing is there are many ways the percentage of drunk drivers can be reduced. Although many people believe drunk driving doesn't affect them because they don't drink and drive, it is something that affects the whole community.
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.
...equiring ignition interlocks for every DUI offender. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, interlocks lower the re-arrest rate of drunken drivers by two-thirds. Actually, drivers with ignition interlocks have less alcoholic accidents than those who are punished by suspending their license. Some states have great success with interlocks already. After authorizing strict interlock laws in 2007, Arizona and Louisiana both cut drunken driving deaths by more than 36% in only four years. In a free society, it is too hard to try to reach zero carries. At least, it is clear that we will not see a large-scale push for DUI law reform in the near future. The fatality made by drunk driving will never be root out, but the government could prevent more suffering by using strategy already proven to work instead of making other laws that is not worth at all.
There is a need for the introduction and implementation of new drunk driving laws by the legislature, because presently the united States drunk driving laws are too lenient. The continuous rate of drunken driving fatalities makes a case that the united States drunk driving laws are too lenient and makes a call for stricter laws. According to Valenti “countries with strict drunk driving penalties have a far lower incidence of accidents than the United States (1). The United States being a first world country is weak in enforcing strict punishment for drunk drivers. Valenti is emphasizing on the fact that the united States need to improve their present laws and be firm in enforcing these new laws. There is a need for the United States to improve on their severity of its drunk driving penalties just the way the other part of the world have done and this is giving them a reduced rate of drunk driving fatalities. The claim of the leniency of the United States drunk driving laws is further stated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this is a prominent body when it comes to the issue of drunken driving fatalities. It claims that the drunken driving laws are severe enough. “Despite great strides in awareness, education and enforcement in the last two decades the United States still has one of the most lenient drunken driving standards in the world”. (NHTSA of existing laws. There is a need for stricter laws to be introduced as the United States ranks behind the world when it comes to effort to combat drunk driving and more efforts need to be put in place by the implementation of harsher laws so as to reduce the high rate of repeat offenders and first time offenders.
Knowing that their license will be revoked on their first crime would make them think of the consequences before going behind the wheels. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, first time drunk drivers are subjected to license revocations which varies from state to state and ranges from ninety days to a year. While those who earn their second or third DUI conviction face having license revoked for another two to five years. Nevertheless, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed that about fifty to seventy percent have continued to drive without license. Out of the thirty-three percent of people who has revoked license about twenty percent them are repeated offenders. (NHTSA, extent of driving) Looking at this statistics surprisingly people still drive drunk after being caught once. People who have been convicted more than four times are given probation and then their license are given back to them. The law is too lenient, and the law enforcement are not rebuffing these people to the full extent, which gives people the motivation to do it again. I think people will learn their lesson if a first time offender’s license is to be revoked for at least five to ten years, and for second or third time offenders, permanent license revocation should be made mandatory. Possibly, people will start to understand the consequences they will face if caught driving under the
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
In addition, alcohol-related traffic accidents not only cause high death rates, but they cost society % 45 billion annually in hospital costs, rehabilitation expenses, and lost productivity (NHTSA 3). It also affects traffic safety, in that the amount of arrests of intoxicated drivers prevents the police from arresting other traffic violators. In 1995 more than 1.4 million people were arrested for driving under the influence, this totaled 10 percent of all arrests made in that year (Hingson 1).
Drinking and driving does not always involve only the intoxicated driver. In America alone drinking and driving is the number one cause of fatal car crashes. Every thirty minutes at least three people will die from drinking and driving across America. Only one out of those three deaths will be the driver responsible. That means every thirty minutes three families lose
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...
...ons were taken, much heartache could be avoided for anyone involved with a drunk driver. Before anyone takes that first drink, they should already have planned ahead because the risk and consequences to themselves and others is just not worth putting the key in the ignition when someone has been drinking.