Should Drunk Driving Be Harsher Punishment

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.

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

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

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.

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

“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.

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.

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.

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.

People suppose that drunk drivers are people and we make mistakes therefore some people should be punished and others should not (debate.org). Drunk drivers should be forgiven, that's what several people think. These people believe that something extremely dangerous could have happened and the only thing the person was just trying to do is forget what had happened. Their are consequences for the mistakes people make, several people believe that. Next time someone decides to drive while being drunk they will think about what happened last time they drove, and they will not want to do it

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

Some states and counties are taking a different type of approach to the problem, including putting offenders face to face with drunk driver victims and having them listen to their stories of pain and suffering because of a drunk driver. Other times they will have the drunk driver face the remaining family of someone who they killed or injured in a drunk driving accident. Some are even taking it to the street, by having the offender wear or carry a poster that states they are a drunk driver and what their crime was along city streets and highways. Each punishment is meant to personalize the pain that drinking and driving can cause others and their families, in the hopes that it might make the offender stop and think before getting behind the wheel.