Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Ways to prevent drinking and driving
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
According to Levinthal (2011), alcohol is called the hidden drug because an alcoholic does not need to find a drug dealer on the street; instead it is legally available and has no criminal sanctions attached to its use; alcoholism is therefore easily hidden from friends and family. Unfortunately, drunk driving is the leading cause of deaths on roadways, and in addition causes hundreds of boating accidents as well. Fortunately, with the legal drinking age set at twenty one and the reduction in the BAC level of intoxication set to 0.08, there have been positive results in minimizing alcohol related deaths annually. 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 first step in preventing DUIs is to prevent an intoxicated individual from driving. It is not always possible to prevent an individual from driving while intoxicated but various measures have been implemented to deter an individual who has been previously charged with a DUI to re-offend. The ignition interlock device is one such technology that is most widely used for deterring repeat DUI offenders. The ignition interlock device works by preventing the car from starting if the minimum BAC level in the breath of the driver is detected. Another effective statewide resource t... ... middle of paper ... ...andom alcohol and other drug testing, community service, lifestyle changes, positive reinforcement for successful performance in the program, and jail time for noncompliance. Where DUI courts have been established, most nonviolent DUI offenders who have had two or more prior DUI convictions are assigned to DUI Court (Fell et al., 2011). Reduction in Recidivism Rates Fell et al., suggests that the clinical assessment of each offender, the period under treatment, the frequent monitoring, the partnerships with other agencies, and the leadership of the judges all seem to play a role in the reduction of recidivism in DUIs. DUI Courts, using DUI statutory conviction requirements as the structure of the program, bring together the various professionals needed to ensure a thorough clinical evaluation, treatment assessments, probation monitoring, and offender adjudication.
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).
Impaired driving is a major issue in our society and is an issue that can easily be preventable unlike many other legal issues. The punishment of impaired driving is barely considered when impaired drivers operates a vehicle while under the influence. It is seen as lenient and study shows that it is a conviction that is repeated multiple times. In order to avoid all of these issues and to fill in the flaws of our government system, the punishments regarding the accused’s conviction of crimes related to impaired driving should be far stricter than the current punishments in order to completely stop impaired driving within our flawed
Driving under influence or with high blood alcohol content (BAC) increases the risk of car accidents, vehicular deaths, and more so highway injuries across all age-groups. In fact, an intoxicated driver with relatively higher BAC increases his/her risk of death by up to 380 times in single-vehicle crash (DeMichele, Lowe & Payne, 2014). Drunk driving is often considered as the largest social problem in the modern day society since 40 to 45% of all fatal traffic accidents usually involve drunk drivers. While 16 is the average blood alcohol content among some seriously injured drinking drivers, the culture of driving under influence can only be stopped through the development of a plausible plan to prevent it (Sloan, Eldred & Xu, 2014).
It was this effort that identified the problem as failures of the judicial process. These failures included sluggish courts, increased levels of recidivism, and a significant loss of public trust (Ballenstedt, 2008). To solve the problem, the program takes a multifaceted approach to punishment in non-violent cases. Through the program, justices have more options available to them when sentencing such offenses as drug possession, prostitution, or even shoplifting. The concept combines social services with punishment in order to reduce reliance on expensive and ineffective short-term jail sentences for non-violent offenders and boost the community’s confidence in the system (Ballenstedt, 2008).
Drinking and driving is a big issue throughout the world causing many accidents. Intoxicated drivers go behind the wheel all the time causing harm to not just themselves but to innocent people on the roads. The question is to stay sober or to find a designated driver. People need to understand how important it is to not drink and drive. There are many things that could occur due to drinking and driving. Individuals can cause accidents and many face legal repercussions. These legal repercussions can even affect your life later on, if not right away.
Dreams are people’s expectations for a better tomorrow. However, intoxicated drivers shatter those dreams without a reason or warning. Even with all the advertisements that highlights the dangers and effects of driving drunk, yet people still chose to drive while intoxicated. Many advocates are working hard to get these people off the streets, and they have been able to reduce the number of alcohol related crashes. Organizations such as Mothers against Drunk Driving have acted alongside law enforcement to reduce the horrific statistics. However, so many innocent lives are still taken by drunk drivers. In order to lower the rate of drunk driving in the United States, there is a need to revoke drunk drivers’ licenses, a need for higher rate of conviction, and a need to make ignition interlocks
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
“Every year, in the United States about 600,000 and ten percent-of all motor vehicle crashes recorded by police department are all due to consumption of alcohol.” In 2003; 42,643 fatalities were caused by vehicle crashes. Of those, 17,013 (40 percent) were alcohol related. The majority people with DUI’s are not alcoholics. “Beer drinking causes about 80 percent of alcohol-related fatalities.” A crash is alcohol related if any driver, pedestrian or passenger involved has any trace of alcohol or there is suspicion of alcohol usage. As the cases of drunk driving quickly increase over a period of time as one of the fast developing public problem, more definite and stricter regulations should be emphasized on books and in the academic world to control such recurring drunk driving offenses.
The fifty states setted a blood alcohol limit of 0.08 percent, many states have zero-tolerance laws that apply to new drivers and drivers you have been driving for years. Some people will go to court about this law because the limit is arbitrary and it does not take in ability to function with a BAC of 0.08 or more in his or hers system. Many heavy drinkers or what we call them today alcoholics, if they drink all the time and if you have your license be the responsible one and ask them for a ride home. Many drinkers reactions are really slow and their ability to control a vehicle is compromised. “Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is an organization to stop the reckless driving while intoxicated,” (Gale). Many teens and adults while coming home from drinking they have hard time with their driving skills such as steering, braking, and changing
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.
One of the oldest techniques, that the government has been encouraging is the school-based instructional programs that discourage drunk driving. Program such as D.A.R.E have taught kids for years about the effect of alcohol and drugs. Special classrooms and courses also have been designed to help educate people about the dangerous consequences of making bad decisions.
Driving while intoxicated or drunk is very dangerous resulting in injuries and even death. This is a huge national problem that can be prevented from happening. “Statistics reveal that most related accidents are the leading cause of death for the ages between 16-24.” (Hanson) Many teens and early adults are peer pressured to drink and end up driving intoxicated or drunk. When driving intoxicated, your short term memory and at often times your reflex is also impaired so you don’t have that quick response to go from pressing the gas pedal to your brakes or from swerving. Therefore, drinking and driving is a cycle that will never end. However, we can address this by stopping drunk drivers by making cabs mandatory at any location when needed, sobriety check points, and alcohol education classes.
Wald, Matthew L. "A New Strategy to Discourage Driving Drunk." New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast) ed.: 0. Nov 20 2006. ProQuest. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking, this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning’s. (Statistics as of 2006)
Drunk driving is extremely impactful on the lives of you and others. While drinking and driving, you are not just endangering yourself, you are also endangering the lives of others. The driver of the car does not just control the car with their hands and feet. They need their brain to function properly so that you are able to react to objects on the road quicker and control the car. If you drink then drive/ drink while driving. Alcohol affects your brain in many ways that inhibit your ability to drive. Alcohol will affect your reaction time, it slows your reflexes which decrease your ability to react to objects on the road. It affects your vision, in can impair your color perception, and night vision. It slows down the movement in the muscles in your eye causing your visual perception to change. Alcohol affects your ability to track. You will not be able to judge the position of cars ahead of you, you won’t be able to judge the