Drinking And Driving

Causes of drinking and driving are various. Some partake in this crime to gain attention from their peers, while some do it solely because their judgment is impaired and it seems like it is not that big of a deal. After the consumption of alcohol, the brain basically processes information at a slower pace than usual. For example, if a drunk person is driving, they cannot see objects at a distance. They also cannot fully pay attention to his or her surroundings, specifically on the road (Mendralla & Grosshandler

This pattern often encourages people to drink more to keep the buzz going." ( Net Biz Mentor ). When people get like that they usually get a little bolder and want to do normal tasks and routines like driving a motorized vehicle. The effects of alcohol result in poor coordination, slurred speech, double vision, decrease of self-control, lost of consciousness and maybe even death.

It seems odd to me that people would get behind the wheel after drinking. However, that is what alcohol does. Our brains are altered with a false sense of security. Alcohol impairs our thinking, making us have irrational thoughts or views. Yet, I also believe that individuals who choose to drive drunk have been brought up in a home where they witnessed a parent drive a car after consuming an adult beverage. Giving them a false idea that “my parents have been doing it and they are fine” kind of attitude.

The legal consequences of drunk driving are also severe. The more a person drinks, the more their ability to make important decisions wear down and becomes impaired. After even just one drink a person can lose the ability to operate a vehicle. At certain parts in the state of intoxication, it becomes illegal to drive a car and if you get caught it can possible lead to fines, or even imprisonment. The legal limit of alcohol you can consume changes from state to state, but the penalty of driving under the influence is always severe. Getting arrested and maybe being forced to sleep in a drunk tank is just some of the problems you also have to carry the humiliation and the shame of being caught and that person might just end up with their name written up in the local news paper. Alcoholism is a disease and it can make

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

Although there are many commercials, ads, documentaries, seminars, etc. on the reasons why people should never drink and drive, you would be surprised how many people still get behind the wheel after having had more than just a drink or two. We might not realize it but every day, about 28 people in the United States die in car crashes that involve a drunk driver. This equals to one death every 51 minutes! It’s so sad because these statistics could be way better if people had a well thought out plan prior to going out drinking. There has been research found relating to Drinking and Driving Behaviors since this topic is now becoming more of an issue in this generation than it was in the past. For instance, Schell, Chan, and Morral (2006), found that some people who have a DUI record tend to have pretty high expectations of themselves even after having some drinks in their system (e.g., “I feel more relaxed when drinking"), so with that being said those people with higher confidence were the ones more likely to be engaged in drinking and driving activity. While intoxicated, we often don’t consider any negative consequences that can happen to us but as you’ll see on the news, on social media, in the newspapers, etc. driving while under the influence can be very dangerous and even fatal.

     ?Alcohol?s effects are progressively more noticeable as the blood alcohol concentration increases. At a BAC of .02 to .05 percent the effects are almost entirely pleasurable. The drinker feels relaxed and sociable. There may also be some modest impairment of reasoning or memory and general reduction in caution. A BAC of .05 to .07 produces a state of excitement. The drinker begins to suffer from what may be a slight but nonetheless noticeable impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Judgement and self-control are also effected. The driver?s behavior is apt to become more aggressive. In general, the drinker feels stimulated and highly capable. In reality his or her ability to safely perform tasks such as driving that require quick reactions, concentration, and good judgement has been significantly reduced.

First and foremost, the legal blood alcohol content while driving in the U.S. is currently at .08%. This is relatively high compared to many countries. A research article on Science Daily reports that “More than 100 countries around the world have limits set at BAC 0.05 percent or below”. Some may argue that this limit of .08% needs to be reduced, while some see it the other way around and they agree with this amount. In reality, blood alcohol content is very sensitive in the fact that just being a small margin above or below .08% can really make a difference regarding the level of impairment for the drinker. Studies at the University of California conclude that they “find no safe combination of drinking and driving -- no point at which it is harmless to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car”. Their data from experimentation with intoxicated drivers also suggests and supports the idea of reducing the legal BAC in

"The problem with drinking and driving is the mourning after", a very simile quote has such a huge meaning behind it, in my family's case we got off lucky. It was a late night, my father received the phone call, I don't think I've seen that look ever in his eyes the 18 years I've been alive. It was about his brother he had gotten in a very catastrophic accident after making the horrible choice to drink and drive. It seemed like the longest drive to Dallas which is where my uncle was airlifted to go into surgery. We arrived at the hospital and were told he was unconscious so I waited in the waiting room with my cousins to comfort them while my aunt and dad were in the room with my uncle. After sitting in the gloomy waiting room for what seemed life forever I decided to take my cousins home we stopped by to get food. His choice to drink and drive was a very bad one, he was unfit to make such a big choice while not in the correct state of mind he had alcohol in his system and lots of it, he had no right to endanger not only his life but every other person that was around him while he was driving. Statistics show that Texas is the leading state for drunk driving cases and Harris county alone had 362 deaths in 2015 alone, driving under the influence not only has physical damage that can be done there's the emotional side that people have to deal with and what the families go through, drunk driving has more effects than just what just meets the eye. Drunk drivers

The effects of alcohol include blurred or double vision, impaired attention and slowed reflexes. Your life and the lives of others can change forever if you drive after drinking alcohol.

The most devastating consequence of driving under the influence is the loss of life. My great grandma Mary was hit and killed by drunken priest and my great grandpa Felix hit and killed a man while drinking and driving. As tragic as these deaths were, they both could have been prevented. Moms Against drinking and driving, (MADD) website states that every two minutes, a person is injured in drunk driving crash. When drivers chose to drink and drive, they are risking their lives, and the lives of

In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in drunk driving incidents. Out of those people, 65% (6,515) were drivers, 27% (2,724) were passengers, and 8% (837) were non-passengers (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). Over half of those fatalities (67.1%) involved blood alcohol levels over .15% (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). The legal blood-alcohol content is .08%. Drunk driving caused 31% of deaths in car crashes in 2013 (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). In 2012, 402 people were killed by alcohol impairment in North Carolina (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). These numbers, though they seem astonishing, have been cut in half since 1991 (“Drunk Driving Statistics”). Even though the number of fatalities has been lowered, that number is not low enough. Most drunk drivers are repeat offenders. Lives are being taken because of the careless attitude of the drunk drivers. Drunk driving is selfish; those who commit this crime do not think about the extreme consequences of their actions. In North America it is estimated that 1-5 drivers has been drinking and 1 in 10 is legally impaired on any Friday or Saturday night (Root). Many groups, including MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), are fighting to stop drunk driving. Unfortunately, drunk driving cannot be stopped. People will always commit this heinous crime. The numbers may go down, but unfortunately there will always be a number. The only way to continually decrease the amount of lives lost is to increase punishments for drunk driving.

The more a person drinks, the more their ability to make important decisions erode and becomes impaired. After even just one drink a person can lose the ability to operate a vehicle. At certain parts in the state of intoxication, it becomes illegal to drive a car and if you get caught it can possible lead to fines, or even imprisonment. The legal limit of alcohol you can consume changes from state to state, but the penalty of driving under the influence is always severe. Getting arrested and maybe being forced to sleep in a drunk tank is just some of the problems you also have to carry the humiliation and the shame of being caught and that person might just end up with their name written up in the local news paper. Alcoholism is a disease and it can make you do some things you would not want to and to repeat your past mistakes. More than one-third of drives arrested for intoxication are repeat offenders. Drivers with a prior DUI offense have a much higher likelihood to be in a fatal crash. (National Commission Against Drunk Driving, 2003). Repeat offenders also face the risk of ruining their own lives. They have the risk of possibility losing their license and that could also result in the losing of their jobs if their employer finds out about the conviction.

Undoubtedly, the legal limit for drinking while driving desperately must be reconsidered. Driving after consuming any amount of alcohol is negligent and hazardous. The concern of drinking and driving is a state law; therefore, the rules and laws may vary among the states. Regardless, drinking while driving is an enormous concern in all 50 states and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after consuming any amount of alcohol should not be tolerated under any circumstances. “The amount of alcohol in the bloodstream is called Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). It is measured in milligrams percent. In most states, drinkers are presumed to be legally impaired if they have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. This is the same as one drop of alcohol in 1,200 drops of blood. While this may seem a small amount to worry about, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.30 can cause a person to go into a coma, while a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.40 could easily kill you” (Chaves County DWI Program). A surprising statistic to most people is, on average about three drinks will put an individual over the legal limit. One drink is considered 12oz beer, 3oz of wine, and 1oz of hard liquor (Arizona Department of Public Safety). Many people get behind the wheel, after having just a few drinks, believing that they have

If you drink and drive, you are not only a danger to yourself but also to your passenger, other road users and pedestrians. In fact, every 30 minutes, someone in this country dies in alcohol-related crash. Every 30 minutes! And last year alone more than one million people are injured in