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Drunk Driving Offenders Research Paper

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Ignition Interlocks Required 3
Ignition Interlocks Required For All Convicted Drunk Driving Offenders From the day, the first motor vehicle was invented, the inventors did not realize that alcohol would become a problem for drivers. Although people tried taking keys away and designated drivers, fatalities involving drunk drivers continued to rise. With the advancement in technology, there had to be a way to prevent vehicles from being started if a person was under the influence of alcohol. Even though convicted drunk driving offenders already receive fines and jail time, ignition interlocks should be mandatory for all convicted drunk driving offenders because ignition interlocks reduce alcohol-related traffic crashes and ignition interlocks …show more content…

While first-time offenders receive minimum fines and jail time, it does not prevent them from continuing to drink and drive after their conviction. They argue that first-time offenders are large drivers who were one sip over the limit. However, according to a study published in May 2010 by the American Journal of Public Health,3 the recidivism rate among first offenders more closely resembles that of second offenders than of non-offenders (Ursino, 2010). As the recidivism numbers clearly demonstrate, convicted drunken drivers return to the roads in numbers too great to ignore. Harsher penalties for felony DUI offenders may be the best answer, but after the offender comes out of jail, an ignition interlock system can be the safest way to ease him or her back into society and back behind the wheel (Ignition Interlock | Ignition Interlock System as Punishment, 2014). In most cases the punishment fits the crime, but with an ignition interlock the punishment is installing a device on our vehicle that saves …show more content…

Paying a fine and receiving a few days in jail will not prevent a person from driving under the influence once they are released from jail. Drunken drivers continue to be a major safety threat on America’s roadways. Despite myriad efforts by state, federal and local governments, along with improvements in vehicle technology, about 10,000 people die every year on the nation’s roads and highways because people who have been drinking choose to drive (TEIGEN,

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