Persuasive Essay On Runk Driving

Drinking and driving is said to be the primary contributor to automotive related deaths. “By law, a driver is considered to be impaired by alcohol if his or her blood alcohol content is 0.08 percent or higher” (Holzmueller). As a matter of fact, “in 2010, about 86 percent of all fatalities alcohol-involved crashes were in cases where a driver or pedestrian had a BAC of .08 or higher” (“The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010” 147). Laws and penalties have been created and applied in recent years that make it more difficult to get away with drinking and driving. If drivers are charged with alcohol-impaired driving, “they face suspension or revocation of their license” (Holzmueller).

How much longer will we be forced to endure the pain and atrocities due to the carelessness of drunk driving? Drunk driving has been a problem in the United States since the introduction of automobiles; however, it did not become an important social issue until the 1980’s. At that time the political atmosphere defined crime in terms of personal choice and individual responsibility. Drunk driving was defined as a problem located within individuals. Drunk driving is illegal in every state. It is not only illegal, but unsafe to operate an automobile if you are under the influence of alcohol.

Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities were 1,028 in 2008 for the state of California (Century Council). Of those deaths, 68% of the drivers were considered “Hardcore Drunk Drivers”; drivers who had a BAC level of 0.15+ (Century Council). Unfortunately, the drivers who got behind the wheel of those vehicles now have to deal with the fact that they slaughtered a person(s), because they made the choice to drive their car when they knew they had consumed alcohol.

A DUI conviction is a permanent part of ones driving record. Even though alcohol related accidents are on the decline, statistics show that a drunk driver kills someone every forty-five minutes. More so, fifty to seventy percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are suspended continue to drive. In 2000, alcohol related crashes cost the public $114.3 billion dollars! Drunk driving carries with it serious penalties from the court system and car insurance companies. One moment of fun can turn into a lifetime of heartache and tragedy. Therefore, it is not worth the risk. Possible prevention measures and solutions are not only for the law enforcement, but for the public as well. Drunk drivers face a hardcore court system, which is intolerant of DUI. Stricter penalties such as automatic licenses revocation, mandatory jail sentencing, vehicle impounding, and licenses plate confiscating are just a few ways the judicial system is handling the DUI problem. Programs such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving have led the way to bringing awareness to society. People need to be responsible and supervise their consumption to ensure that they do not drink too much. They have a moral and a legal responsibility to make sure of this. It is always best to have a designated driver. The most effective way people can prevent driving drunk is to make a personal decision not to drink

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.

Driving under the Influence is a dangerous trend and is known to cause many critical accidents and deaths which could have been easily prevented. Even though the consequences for DUI arrests are strict, they seem to not be effective enough. The toll of alcohol-related deaths, repeated offenders, and accidents is still rising, leaving the streets dangerous and families devastated. Over half the drivers arrested for drunk driving in the nation, are repeated offenders. I stand strongly against drunk drivers; They are a threat to themselves and society and believe that they should be taught a tough lesson when caught. Therefore, the charges for Driving Under the Influence laws need to

The policy being addressed is Idaho Code§18-8004 which states that it is unlawful to drive under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any other intoxicating substances in the state of Idaho. In 1984, Idaho Code§18-8004 was adopted as a state policy in Idaho. Currently, the annual deaths and crashes due to driving under the influence are annually decreasing in the United States as well as in Idaho. The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending getting the legal BAC limit in all 50 states lowered to 0.05 percent, while Mothers Against Drunk Driving is recommending it stay at 0.08 percent. Bases on research, it is important that states and organization’s do as much as they can to get the legal BAC limit lowered to 0.05 nationwide.

California has done its part by enacting most of the known effective DUI countermeasures. However, there is still much to be done and applying other countermeasures implemented in other states, such as the lower per se BAC level for repeat offenders, might be of benefit to California. The study of this report shows that the California Zero Tolerance Law has had a small marginal effect on the number of underage drinking drivers in fatal crashes. After the implementation of the law, a reduction in driving after drinking and alcohol-related crashes has been evident. However, a question remains as to whether a stronger enforcement can produce more substantial results. Nonetheless, there is evidence to suggest that legal changes have produced declines

In the year 2000, M.A.D.D. was nationally recognized for supporting the law that the legal limit of driving while intoxicated should be lowered from .10 to .08. The law was passed in 2005 by congress all throughout the United States, making the chance of an intoxicated person driving and injuring themselves or others much lower. Also, as the result of lobbying and M.A.D.D.’s efforts in changing the law, the state of California also passed a law that enhanced the penalties and fines for re-offenses of DUI charges as well as prevented minors from purchasing alcohol. Five different bills have been signed to add weight to the DUI charges, as well as prevent minors from obtaining fake ID’s by cracking down on security measures and rules in liquor stores. In the state of Rhode Island, M.A.D.D. is spreading the petition to encourage the police to enforce sobriety checkpoints. They argue that the checkpoints are a

The states have taken some effective measures, for instance, brief license suspension, cutting down the blood alcohol obsession legal level from .01 to .08 for adults and for people under age 21 to .02. Others, for instance, restriction checkpoints, state subsidized direction, bunch care, and media campaigns about the dangers of alcohol prevented driving. Additionally a couple of routines should be seen as, for instance, those laid out in the midst of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Drunk Driving and in the national plan for harm balancing activity and control. Such methodology consolidate changing the social standard to make alcohol obstructed driving socially forbidden, compelling alcohol avilability among underaged youth, a lcohol organization get ready for the people who offer and serve alcohol, early alcohol treatment and recuperation activities, offering alternative transportation programs for those of the legal drinking age, and extending the danger's impression for catch for alcohol prevented driving. States like California have raised the discipline for wrongdoing tanked driving offenses to a maximum $1000 fine and one year in jail. In July, a state law delivered results obliging twice-sentenced tanked drivers to set up their cars mind h a breath examination contraption that keeps them from starting their engines if they have a blood-alcohol level higher than .02%. Furthermore, after Jan. 1, people

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 first point in of topic is the issues with repeat offenders. Repeat offenders are an issue because in the past, repeat DUI offenders might have been given minimal jail time or prohibition, along with their driver’s license being suspended. Sometimes, the punishment could include a certain amount of community service. The NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, has called for states to eliminate community service as a punishment, in part because it keeps prosecutions of offenders' records and makes repeat offenses more likely. Treatment for alcohol abuse works in some but not all cases. It is certainly worth trying, but in many cases repeat offenders are not interested in being helped. They will go through a treatment program if it is required by law, but positive effects may be short-lived. These facts about the repeat offenders not wanting to go through treatment programs and not being interested in being helped at all are a major key aspect of why we should have DUI laws that are more strict than they are today because if they do not want any help like treatment for alcohol abuse or go through a treatment program because then they are more likely to not help the community around them in any way. If they were interested in getting helped, there may be a lower risk of car crashes in that area. In the DUI laws were tougher there, they would probably not want to get in any more car crashes because if they did, they would have to pay a higher fee and even do more community work if those laws were implemented. If someone were to be caught driving under an influence, your license could be banned like mentioned before and also could have your car taken away temporarily. These things should teach a person a couple of lessons but if caught again, there could be more of a punishment than before. If someone were to receive a second DUI offense in ten years,

Yes, I do believe that the current laws in place in regards to drinking and driving are effective. The vast majority of motorist tend to be aware of the severe fines and penalties associated with this offense, so I do believe that it definitely serve as a general deterrent to the general public. It definitely stops individuals from getting behind the wheel, or at least makes them think twice about it. However, as stated by Hart al et. (2013), almost 90 percent of those involved in fatal drinking and driving accidents are first time offenders. So no matter how tough a penalty is you will always have those who are willing to push their luck and put others and themselves in danger because they think they wont get caught, and that’s because they

Now a day, driving while intoxicated has become America’s deadliest crime. There were more than 11,000 alcohol-impaired deaths in 2008, sadly those death were preventable if we had more severe Laws against this issue. Drivers are well aware of the Laws and consequences against drunk driving, especially after destroying families due to their carelessness decision. Victims’ Families entire life are ruined because of the sudden death of their loved one, and they are never going to be able to reclaim their normal life, while the offenders after a few days in prison reclaims he’s normal life. As a result of our fragile criminal justice system everyday road users share the road with repeat offenders who are highly resistant to change their

Driving under the influence of alcohol has affected and devastated countless people’s lives. Driving under the influence is one of the most dangerous situations you can put yourself or someone else into. The evidence against driving while intoxicated is massive and it has left a long trail of broken dreams and lives. If you drink and drive, not only do you possibly put yourself at risk, but your passengers and pedestrians, and other people on the roads. According to the most recent statistics by the National Commission Against Drunk Driving is that 17, 000 Americans die each year in alcohol-related traffic crashes and 600,000 Americans are injured. (National Commission Against Drunk Driving, 2003). That’s an average of one fatality every