The Measures against Drunk 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).

First off, I do not drink. Yet, I’ve had many experiences relating to drinking and driving through my friends. One thing I’ve noticed is that it is extremely hard for people to tell if they are legally drunk or not. Furthermore, I have never heard any

Main Point II: Next I would like to talk about accidents and the potential dangers there are with drunk drivers on the road. I would like to start out by telling you a story that is written by Kathleen Buenemann, Donette's mother. On the night of August 8th, 1996, after finishing her shift at work, Donette was on her way home. A 29-year-old female left the "beer garden" at the county fair, around 11 PM. This girl had been there most of the night drinking. She managed to avoid the police and found her way through town in her Mercedes. Just outside of the city limits of town, she crossed the centerline and sideswiped a Jeep, the full length, and proceeded on across the line and hit my daughter's '95 Neon, nearly head-on. My daughter's car was spun around and flipped on the drivers side and slid down and embankment, and came to a rest. A 3rd car drove through the point of impact and was untouched. The 4th car was hit by the debris from my daughter's car, but no injuries there. My daughter had tried to move to the shoulder, but the other car continued on to hit her. Donette had her seat belt on and the air bags did deploy, but because of where the impact was the steering wheel went between the front seats so fast that the bag was of no use. Donette's head struck the A post and then the pavement when the car turned on its side. They said she died instantly of

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.

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

“In the hands of an impaired driver, a vehicle becomes a murderous weapon.” ( ) Everyone can think of someone who has driven impaired, or even maybe you have done it yourself. The fact that one can think of someone who has driven impaired is a problem. Too many people are getting behind the wheel after drinking, smoking; or are not paying attention while they drive. Impaired driving continues to a problem although strides have been made to make a difference. There are many different types of impaired driving, each that have their own consequences. These types, and consequences will be explored in this essay.

Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. A dangerous issue facing society today is the problem of teen drinking and driving. Currently an approximate of 10,076 people die in drunk driving crashes per year. If positive progress to ceasing this act does not happen, teens will continue to drink and drive putting everybody on the road at risk. Teens who drink and drive put everyone on the road at risk, causing serious crashes that could be preventable.

People like to go to parties and have fun all the time and what’s a party without alcohol, right? The problem with drinking at parties, however, is that many don’t know that they have become drunk and end up driving around after they leave the party. Drunk driving is dangerous and those driving that have high blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) increases their risk of causing or being a part of accidents such as vehicle crashes or highway injuries (“Driving,” n.d.). The article “About Drunk Driving” (n.d.) states that every 53 minutes on average, someone is killed in a drunken driving crash and every 90 seconds, someone is injured.

Drunk driving is a dangerous problem that needs to be addressed in our society, not only to cut back on the number of deaths caused by alcohol related accidents but also to ensure safety on public roads. Drunk driving is deliberately breaking the law, as well as a sign of indifference for other drivers.

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 sobering fact is drivers under the age of 21 are responsible for 17% of fatal alcohol related accidents, even though they represent only 10% of licensed drivers (Stim, R. Teen Drunk Driving: The Sobering Facts of Underage DUIs (n.d.). There are approximately 2000 deaths associated with under aged drinking and according to the blood alcohol content of the victims, the main contributing factor is binge drinking, averaging 5 times the legal limit. Research has also shown that more times than not, the underage drunk driving is not wearing seat belts, increasing the chances of a fatal accident. They have found that this # is 74% of the population of drunk drivers involved in fatal

Abstract This writing is on the many arguments that arise about the blood alcohol concentration limits around the country. Should the limits be lowered, keep them the same, and is there too much of a risk involved by lowering (BAC) limits? Costello (2014), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), report other areas of concern such as, injury prevention and safety countermeasures. That scenario will be the focus of the (BAC) limits presently being lowered throughout many states across the U.S. There will be a review of the public’s viewpoint concerning the reduction in these limits. A look into the legal system’s involvement with (BAC) limit changes. There are numerous attorney’s around the world fighting for driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenses to be dropped. Also, the many counter-arguments raised by attorneys, the public and National Transportation Safety Board statistical reports on injury prevention outcomes and alcohol related incidences being reduced post-law.

In the United States approximately every 52 minutes there is a fatality caused by drinking and driving. This issue has been one of the most talked about social issues in the last 30 years. The Ad Council has been one of the main voices behind the increasing knowledge of this issue. With their campaign “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” they have been able to create a better understand of what “drunk driving” is. With the Ad Council’s use of fatality rate, finical loss and pledges to not drive buzzed, they have crafted a way to raise awareness of this problem in the United States.

Unfortunately, driving drunk is still a big issue. On average, 1,580 deaths have been recorded from motor vehicle crashes of underage, drunk drivers per year. The sociological imagination turns personal problems into public issues (Macionis). Society has created many programs that can help drunk drivers, which has resulted in a decline in drunk driving. “Drunk drivers need a quality of mind that will help them see what is going on in the world and what may be happening within themselves.

The amount of drunk drivers that have been pulled or involved in accidents is shocking. According to statistics, in America, every 53 minutes one person is killed from an incident involving drunk driving, bringing the amount of people in America killed by drunk drivers to 27 people per day. Out of the entire world, it is estimated that someone is killed from drunk driving every 90 seconds. Even though drunk driving is not the number one cause of car crashes, it comes in third behind texting and speeding, it is still an epidemic that we need to