The shocking incident that occurred this weekend with Senator Frank Weston (Age 54) was unforeseen. Senator Frank Weston was involved in a car accident early Sunday morning at 3:54 Am after being at the local bar. He was accompanied by his intern, Kristina Thompson (Age 19) who said that Mr. Weston was giving her a ride back to her house. Mr. Weston was measured to have a blood-alcohol level of .161 (legal driving limit is .08 or under) and Ms. Thompson had a blood-alcohol level of .122 and was drinking underage. Mr. Weston was arrested at the accident. Mr. Weston’s 2013 silver Mercedes Benz that he had been driving suffered front-impact damages after a witness reported that the car swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with a 2005 Honda
According to this study, nearly all drivers were intoxicated and admitted. If all drivers were forced into a jail cell, there would be shrinkage in both fatalities and automobile accidents. In fact, “Almost half of all drivers who were killed in crashes tested positive for drugs and also had alcohol in their system” (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, and Schulenberg 1). So why should any offender remain free? According to “Drunk Driving Accident Statistics”, “Three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives” (5). To guarantee the safety of innocent people on the road, all offenders must go to jail immediately.
“Automobiles are not ferocious.... it is man who is to be feared,” as Robbins B. Stoeckel remarked, enumerates a simple, yet fundamental concept- a vehicle in itself is a relatively safe, that is, until you put a person behind the controls. Further adding to the danger is the ever prevalent risk of a fellow driver being impaired by the usage of alcohol; perhaps the only thing that may make such a situation even more difficult and dangerous is one who is under the legal alcohol drinking age. Fewer situations are more life threatening than when an underage driver has been illegally consuming alcohol, yet persists in the belief that he or she retains the ability to drive safely. Thoughts along this line are foolish at best and deadly at
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
Advertisements posted on the website facesofdrunkdriving.com share multiple stories of people who were unexpectedly struck by drunk drivers. There was one story in particular that stood out to me more than the others and that was Jacqueline Saburido’s. This advertisement makes a powerful statement about how drunk driving can not only kill someone, but can also scar someone for life. The goal of the organization that posted this advertisement is to never drink and drive. It is not worth risking your life, someone else’s life, or putting anyone at risk of lifelong hardships and injuries. They present
In the instance of drunk driving, the actions of the drunk driver are related to the safety of the drivers within their proximity and therefore affects not only the driver but others as well. Our previous moral experiences allow us to determine what the intentions of the drunk driver might be. Some drivers may choose to drive under the influence of alcohol because they have had an emergency that requires them to be at a certain place and they do not have the means to reach to their destination except for driving themselves. In this case, the context becomes complicated and intricate. However, if the driver is risking his own and other drivers’ safety, it becomes clear that their intentions are based on nonchalance and disregard for others.
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
Drunk Driving Wrecks: Making sure that the drunk driver is held responsible for his actions according to the laws of Texas.
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
The number of souls in this country is currently reckoned at just under three hundred million (American FactFinder 1). Of these are calculated to be approximately two hundred million licensed drivers (Licensed Drivers – Our Nation’s Highways – 2000 1); from which number I subtract twenty-five million who already drive while intoxicated (MADD Online 1). This being granted, there remains one hundred seventy-five million drivers who do not currently drive while intoxicated. There remains approximately one hundred seventy-five million drivers, their families, friends, and peers who will be
Every year, thousands of deaths occur as a result of drunk driving, and every day people are facing the consequences of irresponsible drinking. Because of the issues caused by irresponsible drinking, the US government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which raised the minimum drinking age to twenty-one to prevent drinking-related accidents and violence. Despite the intent of its passing, it was a counterproductive decision. Because of the higher age restriction, high school upperclassmen and college underclassmen see drinking as an exciting, rebellious act. Consequentially, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act resulted in an increase in dangerous and irresponsible drinking which continues to this day. Not only does the
In Jeannette Walls's, The Glass Castle, we learn of a family's struggles and Jeannette's life growing up as she traveled across the country under unbelievable circumstances. Most of the time, Jeannette, Brian, and Lori, were left to take care of their mom and alcoholic father, including their baby sister Maureen, and lastly each other. Through these sibling's many hardships, they face many challenges moving and constantly trying to control their father’s alcoholic temper. For centuries many families have fell victims to alcohol abuse leaving them scarred and traumatized. In 2012 over 100,000 cases of crime have gone under the category of drunk driving .
Each year numerous lives are lost due to careless and irrational driving. The disregard for safe driving has been a predicament to the United States of America for years. Many years Police have relied heavily on speed cameras, breathalyzer tests and heavy fines as a deterrent against unlawful drivers. Over the years fatality rates have increased, so the Department of Transportation and Highway Safety has composed a series of safe driving campaigns. On many occasions the Transportation Department informs and advises the public about the importance of responsible driving. They propagate safe driving through the various channels of the media and
Not every DWI (driving while intoxicated) case ends the same, some have different verdicts in the courtroom. The Ethan Couch case is a great example of why punishing drunk drivers should be more enforced and not so lenient. The teen from Texas was driving drunk with two other passengers in his pickup truck on June of 2013, when he hit and killed four people. Ethan Couch was tried as a juvenile and charged with four counts of Intoxication Manslaughter, but was only sentenced to ten years of probation. His lawyers argued that it was due to “affluenza”, which means that he came from a wealthy family and it prevented him from understanding what was right from wrong, so he was not held accountable for his actions. The judge who took on this case
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.