Informative Essay On Drunk Driving
It is just one drink, right? More Americans have been killed in alcohol related car crashes than in all of the wars that the United States of America has been involved in sense it was founded. Hard to believe isn’t it? I am going to give everyone some information on what exactly drunk driving is, who may be affected by drunk driving, what can happen if you are one of the millions caught each year for drunk driving, and the tests that may come into to play if you happen to get pulled over. I could not believe how many lives were directly and indirectly affected by drunk driving. It is understandably that people die each day from non-alcohol related accidents, but facts from the National Traffic Safety Administration prove that alcohol
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related accidents take the life of someone every 30 minutes; which is double than in regular car crashes. The ones who are just injured in these accidents is occurring every two minutes.
Alcohol-related accidents are defined as someone either a driver or pedestrian being involved in an accident with any traceable amount of alcohol in their system.
The definition of driving under the influence stays the same throughout the country.
Impairment is when you have a BAC (blood alcohol content) of .08 or higher. If you are under the age of 21 the zero tolerance law comes into play which is when the person under the age of 21 has any traceable amount of alcohol in there system..
According to the National Highway of Traffic Violations in 2006, people between the ages 16-20 involved in a fatal alcohol related accident rose 3.9 percent from 2005; among 21-34 the fatalities rose .07 percent. The rest of the age groups had a drop in fatalities where alcohol was involved. Alcohol related crashes are the leading cause of death for young Americans, between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. For Americans between the ages of 5 and 35, motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death; over 50% of these accidents are caused by alcohol impaired drivers. These numbers are usually having a lower percentage when sobriety checkpoints are implemented. These are checkpoints put in place that officers systematically select drivers to find out if they have been drinking at all. This usually works well because it puts the thought in the driver’s head that might be taking the chance of drinking and driving that there is a higher risk of being pulled over and caught resulting in serious discipline (www.thecommunityguide.org.) Here is a layout from the “Community Alcohol Information Program” which states what the percentage is of alcohol related accidents.
Over 50% of all fatal highway crashes involving two or more cars are alcohol related.
Over 65% of all fatal single car crashes are alcohol related.
Over 36% percent of all adult pedestrian accidents are alcohol related.
80% of all fatal alcohol related auto crashes occur between 8 pm and 8 am.
36% of all adult pedestrian accidents involve an intoxicated pedestrian.
(http://www.duipictures.com/statisti.htm)
Some of the laws have been changed in each state to try and prevent drinking and driving. They now follow an administrative license revocation law in all states. This is where if a driver refuses to take a BAC test, there license can be taking on the spot for up to a year.
The Safe, accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, which is a bill that was passed in August of 2005 gives states funding incentives when they target 3 types of drunk driver.
The first of these three are the repeat offender; which is when a person has already been stopped and prosecuted for drunk driving.
The second is drivers whose BAC is over .15 which are the higher risk drunk drivers.
The third is the people who have already has there licenses revoked for driving under the influence.
There are many ways a law enforcement official can test you to see if you have been drinking. A sobriety test is most common, which will take you through activities, for example walking a straight line, standing on one foot and touching your finger to your nose, or even something as ironic as saying your ABC’s backwards. This will help the officer determine if a more accurate BAC test needs to be done. There are three main types of alcohol detectors; which are devices that can be used to tell you if you are over the legal limit.
The breathalyzer, which is the most commonly used, is a machine used to breathe in. When you breathe into the machine your breath goes into a vial which is the reacted mixture, it is then compared to the un-reacted mixture causing a needle to move which tells you how intoxicated you might be.
The Intoxilyzer is a device that uses infrared spectroscopy, which tells how intoxicated you are by how particles are absorbed into infrared light.
Last of all, the Alcosensor is a device using two platinum electrodes and has an acid-electrolyte material between the two. After blown in and the protons are oxidized, a micro pressure measures your BAC. These procedures can be followed up by a visit to the nearest ER in order for the officer to get a more accurate reading of your blood alcohol content. The have a physician take your blood and then process it to find out exactly what your BAC measures.
Many consequences can come from being caught drinking and driving.
Most people try and get an attorney in hopes of getting a reduced sentence; this is a waste of time and money for the most part because the consequences the judge must impose are mandated by state law now. First time offenders can usually look forward to a lengthy license suspension, fines and restitution, counseling, and even sometimes a weekend in jail. For the second time offenders, they are guaranteed a stay in jail with an even longer license suspension, bigger fines, and more in depth counseling sessions. Many states have passed Habitual Violator laws which provide felony charges for people with three DUI convictions. These three time offenders will lose many of there civil rights, including the right to own a weapon, their right to vote, and also in many cases will have there licenses revoked for many years or even forever. In order for people to have their license reinstated, they are now required to go through an assessment interview with a professional counselor to decide which steps to be taking before reinstating the license. This is usually a counselor asking many questions to try and determine the severity of the drinking problem. The judge can also make it mandatory for you to install, at your expense, an ignition interlock; which is a device that will prevent your vehicle from starting if the breathe of the driver contains any trace of
alcohol.
It is sometimes hard to understand how serious consequences may be from doing anything. I am just hoping now I was able to help people understand how serious this can be and how many people you could hurt from getting behind the wheel or getting in a car with someone who has been drinking. I know from experience, because my cousin was killed in a drunk driving accident. It is not just about you, it is about all of the other lives that can be taken or damaged from drunk driving. It is a serious offence that officers are cracking down on more and more each day. Please consider all that I have told you; the facts, the statistics, and the lives of the many people you might effect by incorporating alcohol when you are driving. Do not make the same mistake that others have made, think before you drink and drive.
related accidents take the life of someone every 30 minutes; which is double than in regular car crashes. The ones who are just injured in these accidents is occurring every two minutes.
Alcohol-related accidents are defined as someone either a driver or pedestrian being involved in an accident with any traceable amount of alcohol in their system.
The definition of driving under the influence stays the same throughout the country.
Impairment is when you have a BAC (blood alcohol content) of .08 or higher. If you are under the age of 21 the zero tolerance law comes into play which is when the person under the age of 21 has any traceable amount of alcohol in there system..
According to the National Highway of Traffic Violations in 2006, people between the ages 16-20 involved in a fatal alcohol related accident rose 3.9 percent from 2005; among 21-34 the fatalities rose .07 percent. The rest of the age groups had a drop in fatalities where alcohol was involved. Alcohol related crashes are the leading cause of death for young Americans, between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. For Americans between the ages of 5 and 35, motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death; over 50% of these accidents are caused by alcohol impaired drivers. These numbers are usually having a lower percentage when sobriety checkpoints are implemented. These are checkpoints put in place that officers systematically select drivers to find out if they have been drinking at all. This usually works well because it puts the thought in the driver’s head that might be taking the chance of drinking and driving that there is a higher risk of being pulled over and caught resulting in serious discipline (www.thecommunityguide.org.) Here is a layout from the “Community Alcohol Information Program” which states what the percentage is of alcohol related accidents.
Over 50% of all fatal highway crashes involving two or more cars are alcohol related.
Over 65% of all fatal single car crashes are alcohol related.
Over 36% percent of all adult pedestrian accidents are alcohol related.
80% of all fatal alcohol related auto crashes occur between 8 pm and 8 am.
36% of all adult pedestrian accidents involve an intoxicated pedestrian.
(http://www.duipictures.com/statisti.htm)
Some of the laws have been changed in each state to try and prevent drinking and driving. They now follow an administrative license revocation law in all states. This is where if a driver refuses to take a BAC test, there license can be taking on the spot for up to a year.
The Safe, accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, which is a bill that was passed in August of 2005 gives states funding incentives when they target 3 types of drunk driver.
The first of these three are the repeat offender; which is when a person has already been stopped and prosecuted for drunk driving.
The second is drivers whose BAC is over .15 which are the higher risk drunk drivers.
The third is the people who have already has there licenses revoked for driving under the influence.
There are many ways a law enforcement official can test you to see if you have been drinking. A sobriety test is most common, which will take you through activities, for example walking a straight line, standing on one foot and touching your finger to your nose, or even something as ironic as saying your ABC’s backwards. This will help the officer determine if a more accurate BAC test needs to be done. There are three main types of alcohol detectors; which are devices that can be used to tell you if you are over the legal limit.
The breathalyzer, which is the most commonly used, is a machine used to breathe in. When you breathe into the machine your breath goes into a vial which is the reacted mixture, it is then compared to the un-reacted mixture causing a needle to move which tells you how intoxicated you might be.
The Intoxilyzer is a device that uses infrared spectroscopy, which tells how intoxicated you are by how particles are absorbed into infrared light.
Last of all, the Alcosensor is a device using two platinum electrodes and has an acid-electrolyte material between the two. After blown in and the protons are oxidized, a micro pressure measures your BAC. These procedures can be followed up by a visit to the nearest ER in order for the officer to get a more accurate reading of your blood alcohol content. The have a physician take your blood and then process it to find out exactly what your BAC measures.
Many consequences can come from being caught drinking and driving.
Most people try and get an attorney in hopes of getting a reduced sentence; this is a waste of time and money for the most part because the consequences the judge must impose are mandated by state law now. First time offenders can usually look forward to a lengthy license suspension, fines and restitution, counseling, and even sometimes a weekend in jail. For the second time offenders, they are guaranteed a stay in jail with an even longer license suspension, bigger fines, and more in depth counseling sessions. Many states have passed Habitual Violator laws which provide felony charges for people with three DUI convictions. These three time offenders will lose many of there civil rights, including the right to own a weapon, their right to vote, and also in many cases will have there licenses revoked for many years or even forever. In order for people to have their license reinstated, they are now required to go through an assessment interview with a professional counselor to decide which steps to be taking before reinstating the license. This is usually a counselor asking many questions to try and determine the severity of the drinking problem. The judge can also make it mandatory for you to install, at your expense, an ignition interlock; which is a device that will prevent your vehicle from starting if the breathe of the driver contains any trace of
alcohol.
It is sometimes hard to understand how serious consequences may be from doing anything. I am just hoping now I was able to help people understand how serious this can be and how many people you could hurt from getting behind the wheel or getting in a car with someone who has been drinking. I know from experience, because my cousin was killed in a drunk driving accident. It is not just about you, it is about all of the other lives that can be taken or damaged from drunk driving. It is a serious offence that officers are cracking down on more and more each day. Please consider all that I have told you; the facts, the statistics, and the lives of the many people you might effect by incorporating alcohol when you are driving. Do not make the same mistake that others have made, think before you drink and drive.