DUI Offenders Should Get Mandatory Jail

Drinking and driving has become a bigger problem with road and driving safety in the last decade. More and more individuals are getting behind the wheel after drinking, causing danger to other road users. Three main reasons DUI offenders should get mandatory jail time on first offense is with the possibility of jail if caught may stop some from driving under the influence, it will reduce the annual amount of vehicle accidents per year, and ultimately reducing the threat of harm or death to others. DUI offenders should get mandatory jail time on first offense for drinking and driving.

It is legal to have a certain amount of alcohol in your system while driving. It has been proven that even a low amount of alcohol can cause a person to be impaired

“An estimated 4 million U.S. adults reported driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in 2010 yielding an estimated 112 million alcohol-impaired driving episodes” (Chambers, M., Liu, M., & Moore, C.). Driving while under the influence over the legal limit is illegal, therefore should be strongly enforced. “Here are 10 things that happen when you’re stopped for driving under the influence (DUI): You will get arrested, you will go to court, your driver’s license will be suspended, you will pay fines, you may go to jail, you may receive probation, you may need to attend DUI school, you could be asked to attend an alcohol evaluation, and you may have to pay higher auto insurance” (Wutke, S.). Most first time DUI cases will be dismissed with a warning or small fine. Offenders with their first, second, and even third offense still may only get a warning or fine causing them to believe that drinking and driving isn’t a serious offense. “First-time OUI/DUI offenders can most often expect to get a misdemeanor DUI. Also, it is more likely that the judge will consider alternatives to time in a jail cell, especially if any mitigating factors exist in your case. Community service, driver's license suspension, and mandatory alcohol/drug education and rehabilitation programs are all examples of alternatives available to the judge” (Hirby, J.). If the law was enforced like

“Every day, 28 people in the US die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 53 minutes” (CDC 2017). If offenders are jailed for first time, this statistic will also decrease. If offenders were to not drive because of the first reason mentioned, there will be less accidents. With those DUI induced accidents, lives are damaged or taken from innocent victims when others try to drive under the influence. Almost 36,000 people a year are killed due to impaired drivers. This does not include the accidents where there are injured civilians in alcohol related crash. DUI’s are not limited to highway drivers, but to boaters as well. “Similarly, alcohol can impair a boater’s judgement, balance, vision, and reaction time. The US Coast Guard reported 154 recreational boating fatalities which involved alcohol use as a contributing factor in 2010” (Chambers, M., Liu, M., & Moore, C.). Over 1,000 of the alcohol related deaths are children under 14 years of age. If the sentences were stronger on first offense, this number could be greatly