Driving is a privilege Americans have been afforded since the invention of the automobile in the late 1800’s. Yet with great power comes great responsibility. One of the responsibilities associated with being able to drive several tons of metal at high speeds is the responsibility of doing so without any distractions or impairments. Choosing to drive drunk puts not only the driver in danger, but also everyone else in the car and on the road. Currently, the average drunk driver will drive eighty times before getting caught by the police (1). On average, one third of all people will be involved in a drunk driving accident during the course of their lifetimes (7). Whereas driving drunk once can be seen as a mistake and a one-time lapse in judgment, choosing to recklessly ignore the law and the safety of others is a serious offense against society. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that one in three persons arrested for drunk driving are repeat offenders (2). Alcohol is causing too many deaths. Each year, excessive drinking is responsible for the deaths of 80,000 people in the United States, 4,700 of which are young Americans (6). Alcohol by itself is dangerous; this danger is (made greater) when individuals consuming it are allowed to drive a vehicle. Research has shown that a pedestrian struck by a vehicle moving at 40 miles an hour has a fifty percent chance of getting killed as a result of the impact (9). A distracted or impaired driver will not be able to react as fast as a non-impaired driver, meaning a drunk driver is a more dangerous driver than a sober one. Another problem lawmakers face in their attempt to lower the harm caused by drunk drivers is that simply lowering the blood alcohol content for a ... ... middle of paper ... ...use." CQ Researcher by CQ Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. . 7.) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Traffic Stop & You. N.p.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2001. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. . 8.) Great Britain. Department for Transport. London. Relationship between Speed and Risk of Fatal Injury: Pedestrians and Car Occupants. By Richards. Transport Research Laboratory, Sept. 2010. Web. . 9.) 2014 Illinois DUI Fact Book. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Illinois Secretary of State. Web. .
Ontario Provincial Police . (2009). Provincial Traffic Safety Program. Retrieved from Ontario Provincial Police: http://www.opp.ca/ecms/index.php?id=51
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.
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...
Iowa Department of Transportation. (2010, December 1). “Under Age 18 – Iowa’s Graduated Driver’s Licenses (GDL).”
Drunk driving is a completely needless crime due to it not being obligatory and completely recreational. According to the DMV, every 53 minutes, someone is killed by a drunk driver and every 90 seconds, someone is injured. That totals to about 350k people affected physically by someone driving under influence. That also doesn’t include the families affected by the fatalities or injuries. Almost one out of every three traffic deaths involves drunk driving and one in three people will be involved in a drunken driving crash in their lifetime. Some may believe that driving “tipsy” is not as ba...
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.
It is a tragic truth: About 10,000 lives are lost in the United States because of drunk driving each year. Alcohol is wildly known as one of the main reasons of causing social security issue. Small amount can make people feel relaxed, but bigger amount could make them loss their coordination, get feeling of confusion and disorientation, and significantly slowed their reaction time. On average, one person dies every hour because of alcoholic traffic accident in United State. Therefore, the NTSB put out a recommendation last May that the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level for drivers should be lowered from the current level of .08% to .05%. But for several reasons, we shouldn’t lower the criterion on blood alcohol content.
drinking alcoholic is very harmful for the people bodies. Furthermore, the number of overall motor vehicle deaths is decreasing – a trend that alcohol – related fatalities are sure to follow, regardless of the drinking age. For example, significant improvements in high way systems and vehicle safety have helped to decrease the overall number of motor vehicle deaths.
Once an individual makes the decision to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol they are not only putting themselves at risk but the lives of other people on the road. After reviewing the Annual Report of the California DUI Management I was astonished to find that in 2008 there were a total of 214,811 DUI arrests (Annual Report). Of those 214,811 arrests I was sickened to find that 38,266 of the drivers were a second-offender (Annual Report). This means that these individuals have had one DUI arrest within the previous ten years. It is disheartening for me to discover that 26.4% of the reported 214,811 arrests are due to individuals who were second to fourth-offenders.
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”...
Drinking alcohol is a huge part of socializing in our modern culture. I’ve personally experienced great moments with my loved ones in family barbeques and reunions where alcohol is involved. Having a great time as you drink with your friends and family is often celebrated in our movies, music videos, and television shows, but what is not displayed in our entertainment is the effects of drinking and driving. In 2009, almost 11,000 people died in a car accident involving drunk driving, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If under the influence of alcohol one must never drive a vehicle and in today's day and age this problem can be avoided in many different ways.
Drivers who have a low BAC (blood alcohol concentration) are involved in few fatal crashes. Only a few of the drivers have a higher BAC of .15 but they are the ones that cause the fatal crashes. People with high BAC drivers tend to be male between the ages of 25 to 35 with a history of DWI’s (“Drinking and Driving”). Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the functions of the central nervous system. This causes the normal brain function to be delayed, and the person isn’t able to form physical and mentally normally. It also affects the hand – eye coordination of a person, known as psychomotor skills. The greater amount of alcohol consumed before driving, the more likely the person will be involved in a crash. The skills needed to drive become impaired, like judgment, concentration, comprehension, coordination, and reaction time (“ Driving while impaired”). Fortunately, car accidents due to drunk driving has dropped dramatically in the last decade, however, there are still far too many
"Underage Drinking: Why Do Adolescents Drink, What Are the Risks, and How Can Underage Drinking Be Prevented?" National Institue on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Jan. 2006. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .
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.