Penalties against drunk drivers should be increased
If the current penalties for drunk driving are good enough, there should be far less alcohol-related accidents, but that is not the case. Deaths from alcohol-related car accidents have dropped by a third in the last three decades, but that is not enough considering the damage still being done. Every day approximately 29 people in the United States die because of driving under the influence. The most terrible part about this is when innocent people die because of the actions of another. I believe the recurrence of DUI’s are mainly caused by people who do not take the related dangers seriously and look at the penalties as not that severe. The other reasons why people drink and drive are based on several categories that relate to decision making. When all factors have combined the risk of drunk driving increases. Penalties for drunk driving should be increased to help prevent more fatalities.
There is still a large number of traffic fatalities involving alcohol and this is not acceptable. “Every two hours, three people are killed in alcohol-related highway crashes. The consequences of drinking and driving are arrests, property damage, injuries, and thousands of deaths each year” (Chambers 1). In 2010, there were about four million U.S adults reported for driving under the influence. “Alcohol-related highway crashes accounted for 13,365 deaths in 2010, and to top that off, the alcohol-related accidents cost Americans an
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
Imagine the idea of a college student driving back to her dorm from the grocery store. She waits patiently for the light to turn green as she sings to her favorite song on the radio. Finally, its time for her to go and she accelerates through the intersection. Little did she know a man that had too many drinks would come flying through the red light. The last thing she saw was the headlights of his car. Drunk driving is a heartbreaking occurrence. Every day drunk drivers are imprisoned, either for traffic violations, dangerous driving, or accidents. People that make the mistake of drinking and driving not only put themselves in danger; they put all of the other people on the roads in danger. Innocent lives may be lost because of another’s
Drunk driving is an epidemic that continues to have severe and life threatening consequences for those involved, if we simply take a few steps against drunk driving we can help decrease this epidemic.
We have all had some kind of knowledge or even personal experience with the effects of drinking and driving, whether it is watching a report on the news, having friends or family being involved as a victim or offender, to even being a victim or offender yourself. The aftermath of drinking and driving, even if only a few drinks were consumed, is a tragedy for all persons involved. The current rational of just having a few drinks is that consuming only a little alcohol means that the person isn’t intoxicated nor suffers the effects of alcohol, even though medical science proves this to be false. Typically the majority of offenders that drink and drive, do not set out to operate a motor vehicle under the influence, much less, understand the
Alcohol is something that has been part of human nature for thousands of years. It has been used by means of medical, social, religious, and cultural settings (Information about Alcohol, n.d.). Alcohol is going to be a product that will be a part of our lives for many years to come, definitely past our lifetime. A problem that we see today is the use of drinking and driving. This is one of life’s more dangerous and stupid activities, but people still decide to do it. People like to push their abilities to the edge, which could end up causing death to themselves and others. When we watch the news, there always seems to be at least one crash that involved a drunk driver. You have to remember that one incident happened in our city,
Drunk driving could be stopped with minimal effort if specific rules and actions were implemented to stop intoxicated people from getting behind the wheel. Installing breathalyzers in all cars new and old should be a mandatory thing for the safety of others you might harm. If all cars did have breathalyzers it would stop anybody that tries to drink and drive because your car won't start if you are intoxicated.Obtaining your license after a D.U.I shouldn’t be as simple as waiting a certain period you need to prove that a lesson has been learned and you aren't going to just do it again. Designated drivers should be put into place at events and private parties it could be like a bus specifically for drunk people as a means of getting home safe.
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.
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.
In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Of the 1,210 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2010, 211 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver. Of the 211 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2010, over half (131) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver. In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. That is one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.
Drunk driving is considered a serious crime in every state. It is wrong, irresponsible and wastes many lives. People who abuse alcohol hurt everyone around them, endanger public safety, and create carnage on the nation's highways. There is nothing positive that can come out of drunk driving, so why do people do it? It is society's job to punish these menaces and try to take control of this out of control issue. America doesn't want to watch idly as hundreds of people are killed each day. We want to take a stand and let the world know that we may be the 'land of the free and the brave' but there is nothing brave or free about driving drunk. What should be done about this problem is debatable and certainly open to discussion, but the first
Alcohol can cause a major accident on the road that also affects other. Just by opening a can of beer can lead us or someone else to death. “Every 2-hours, three people are killed in alcohol-related highway crashes”(Chambers, 2010). It may be easy, but the consequences don’t come to mind before. The consequences of driving and drinking “are arrests, property damage, injuries, and thousands of deaths each year “ (Chambers, 2010). One of my friends lost her mom about two years ago because a guy was driving under the influence of alcohol and was speeding where he lost control of the car and crashed into the car. Yes, the guy is still alive and the only one affected was my friend’s mom, she passed away on her way to Colorado to visit her family but sadly she never made
Driving under the influence of alcohol has been a major issue in America, spanning all the way back to more than 50 years ago (Raymond). Many accidents are caused from drinking and driving yearly, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries involving innocent people. When alcohol is mixed with driving a motor vehicle, there are no limits to who may be at risk. This means that drunk driving has been harming, hurting and killing many innocent people in America. Over the years I have witnessed many aftermaths of drunk driving accidents and have heard of multiple accidents resulting from alcohol use involving people I know, and people I do not know. Sometimes, in accidents like these, all parties involved may walk away from the accident with
Approximately one million people are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes every year and young people, ages 16 to 24 are involved in 28% of those alcohol-related driving accidents, although they make up only 14% of the U.S. population. On any given weekend evening, one in 10 drivers on America's roads has been drinking and according to the latest statistics, in a family of five the prospect of you or someone in your family being involved in an alcohol-related motor vehicle accident in their lifetime, is an astounding 200 percent. That's a lot of tragic, meaningless deaths that could actually have been avoided.
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
Another drinking related activity that is deadly is drunk driving. Drinking and driving kills someone every fifty-three minutes. Every fifty-three minutes a mother and father loses their child because of an alcohol related accident. Every ninety seconds alone someone is injured. These deaths and injuries could be easily prevented if people would think before acting. If people would give up their keys or find a designated driver 10,000 people a year wouldn’t lose their lives. Drinking and driving takes the lives of many innocent woman, children, and men.