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Driving impaired vs Sober The difference between driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or driving while distracted from something such as texting is very different than driving while sober and focused on the road. Truth is, there really is a big difference between driving when your mind is sober and focused on the road and when you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The first obvious difference is being able to focus on the road in general. When sober, you have a far less chance of spacing off or losing track of what you're doing. Being sober will usually keep your eyes on the road and keep your from getting distracted from simple things. However when you're under the influence of drugs, such as marijuana, you space out and lose the attention required to be driving safely. Alcohol is a completely different story however. Alcohol takes away and hand eye coordination, which is really a good thing to have while you're driving. Alcohol also makes people act …show more content…
While sober, your reaction time to other vehicle or any other things that may get your way when you're driving is as good as it's gonna get, which is a good thing. Being under the influence of anything can hinder your reaction time, which in many cases has resulted in death for some people. There's a reason why many prescription drugs such as painkillers recommend not to operate motor vehicles while using them because they know it alters your reaction time. While using drugs or alcohol, again, your ability to react to things in the road is very slowed. This ranges from anything to stopping for people crossing the road to stopping for a simple red light. Every situation when driving requires you to be sharp, otherwise you're putting the lives of others in
The term “distracted driving” may be hard to define, but, simply, it is the act of driving while being engaged in any activity. Stephanie Hanes describes in her article, how texting is a deadly epidemic. The distractions occurring while we drive on the road endangers the lives of drivers and passengers around us. Andrew Lavallee explains in his article “Companies build Services to End Texting and Driving,” how texting is wildly popular these days. David Andreatta points out some activities which drivers are engaged in while on road, in his article “Texting and Driving Can Spell Disaster.”
Impaired driving is a very significant problem within our society. Impaired driving is defined in Canada as operating a vehicle (including cars, trucks, boats, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles) while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is recognized as a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada. Despite a sizeable drop in the impaired driving rate since the mid-1980s, impaired driving is the leading cause of criminal death in Canada. It is a major issue that is taken very lenient but is far more dangerous than people actually consider it to truly be. Driving under the influence does not only put the person operating the vehicle in potential danger and harm, but also has the potential to do harm towards innocent others. With this being said, the punishments regarding the accused’s conviction of crimes related to impaired driving should be far stricter than the current punishments in order to stop impaired driving within our flawed society. This stated, these are my following reasons as to why I believe that the punishments of impaired driving should be stricter.
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 drivers that have only one or two drinks feel fine, and assume they are in control, which is irresponsible and dangerous. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the body's ability to react and impairs judgment. To drive well, you need to be able to have a quick reaction time to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, people continue to drink and drive. However,...
It’s May 5, 2012. It’s a Saturday night after a stressful week of school. It’s an ordinary spring day. We had been at Truman Lake on the water all day, looking forward to a great night of racing. The sun rose up, the heat was reaching the upper nineties, and conditions were beautiful for a night filled with racing. My uncle had box tickets to the Impact Night at Wheatland Speedway. My mom, dad, brother, and three of our family friends all piled into our seven passenger SUV to head down to Wheatland, MO. Little did we know what was in store. The races started off intense and every race had at least one wreck. After a long day, we were driving home. Exhausted, I had just dozed off on my mom’s shoulder when out of nowhere on Highway 83, we swerved off the road to avoid getting hit head-on by a drunk driver. Sliding every which way through the ditch, we hit a school bus sign; only feet away from guard rail. Thanks to my dad’s retired dirt track racing skills and someone watching over us, everyone in that car is alive today.
Designated drivers are the most important people when considering driving to a place with alcohol. Ethan should have let that one person who wasn't drunk drive, but being persistent caused all of those deaths.In an article, it states “You will have lowered reflex and response time and
While judgment is impaired so motor skills, this then effects your driving. If it wasn’t an already known subject, driving under the influence is strictly forbidden, and for good reason. “National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drugs other than alcohol (e.g., ...
Driving under the influence of alcohol affects reaction time and is very dangerous not only for the driver and passengers in the car but for pedestrians and other drivers on the road. Each drunken driving ad targets different audiences; some may target different age
Effects of Drinking and Driving I’ve never seen drinking and driving on a daily planner or heard anyone say I think I’ll get a DUI today. I have heard people say “it’s my life, and if I want to drink and drive I will”. Well, it’s not just your life that is affected by the results of drinking and driving. When you make that choice to drink and drive you are taking the lives of family, friends, and strangers into your hands. You don’t have to get into an accident and kill somebody for the results to destroy you or someone else’s life. Drinking and driving can be the cause of many traumatic life changing events.
Driving while drunk is one of the very dangerous things in the life of a driver. Drivers who work under high Blood Alcohol Concentration also known as (BAC) usually expressed as a percentage of ethanol in the blood consisting of alcohol per volume of blood or alternatively mass of alcohol per mass of blood. These drivers are at a great increase of car risk accidents, vehicular deaths as well as highway risks. Drinking under the Influence commonly known as DUI simply refers to driving a motor vehicle while one has level of alcohol in their blood exceeding the legal limit. This is not limited to alcoholic content but covers other drugs that include but are not limited to prescription drugs. This leads the driver to lack coordination, experience double vision, brief blackouts and have a slurred speech. Driving under the influence causes brain impairment leading to a person feeling that they can manage a situation just like they have always handled it before. This is always as a result of poor reasoning and judgment which leaves one vulnerable to the deadly effects of drunk driving.
Car and Driver Magazine did a study on how long it takes to react and stop a car unimpaired, legally drunk, and responding to a text message. The study shows that the reaction times are increased while legally drunk, with a blood alcohol level of .08, and rises even further with texting. The article explains that text messaging is more dangerous than drunk driving because you are distracted in three ways instead of only two ways when under the influence of alcohol. While distracted by texting, you are distracted cognitively, unable to focus on your driving skills. You are also distracted visually by taking your eyes off of the road. Last but not least, you are distracted manually by taking your hands off of the wheel to send a text message. Manual distraction usually does not take place while driving under the influence. Teenagers are the highest population that texts while driving and eleven teens are killed each day. (Samakow)
Research has proven that it is difficult to concentrate on driving and talking at the same time. A recent British study showed that talking on a mobile phone while driving was more hazardous than operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Tests conducted by scientists for UK-based insurance firm, Direct Line, involved 20 subjects using a driving simulator to test reaction times and driving performance and compared this to when drivers had too much to drink. The results showed drivers' reaction times were, on average, 30 percent slower when talking on a handheld mobile phone than when legally drunk - and nearly 50 percent slower than under normal driving conditions. The tests also showed that drivers talking on phones were less able than drunk drivers to maintain a constant speed, and they had greater difficulty keeping a safe distance from the car in front.
Drunk driving is extremely impactful on the lives of you and others. While drinking and driving, you are not just endangering yourself, you are also endangering the lives of others. The driver of the car does not just control the car with their hands and feet. They need their brain to function properly so that you are able to react to objects on the road quicker and control the car. If you drink then drive/ drink while driving. Alcohol affects your brain in many ways that inhibit your ability to drive. Alcohol will affect your reaction time, it slows your reflexes which decrease your ability to react to objects on the road. It affects your vision, in can impair your color perception, and night vision. It slows down the movement in the muscles in your eye causing your visual perception to change. Alcohol affects your ability to track. You will not be able to judge the position of cars ahead of you, you won’t be able to judge the
People driving under the influence of anything, but especially alcohol, is incredibly dangerous, very much illegal, and just plain selfish. Alcohol impairs your eyesight, your self control mechanisms, and most importantly, it impairs your judgement and thought processes. When a person makes the decision to get behind the wheel after they've been drinking, or even after one drink, they are deciding to drive unsafely and endanger the lives of themselves and others. It isn't that hard of a decision to ask someone else to drive, call an uber, or get a taxi. Worst case scenario, the person can find someone they know close by or a nearby hotel and spend the night. Any of these options, while more expensive, are far better than taking the risk of driving impaired, and the costs are far lower than the actual costs of causing an accident, or even taking someone's life.
Many people in the United States enjoy a drink of their favorite alcoholic beverage. It could be a nice ice cold beer after a hard day of work or going to the bar and enjoying a few shots or mixed drinks with friends. Drinking alcohol is a common way to mingle with friends and take the edge off a difficult day. However, there are dangers involved with alcohol since it does dampen the body’s ability to cope with new information. Alcohol becomes a poison to the body when consumed in large quantities. The biggest danger is not to the driver after they become inebriated, but comes to anyone the drunk driver comes in contact with. A sober person can be dangerous just by being distracted, but a drunk driver’s ability to cope with changing situations and distractions is one of the biggest hazards on today’s roads. Some individuals believe that they are not as impaired as what they are led to believe from government ads and the many videos that show what can happen to someone who is drinking and driving. Although, there are many policies in place to advocate against drunk driving, there are those who would endanger themselves and others with their thoughtless actions when they jump into the driver’s seat of a vehicle. Drinking and driving should never be combined because a person who has been drinking does not have the ability to use all mental faculties unimpaired, many people have been killed, injured, or psychologically hurt by a drunk driver, many men and women do not know the difference weight and gender have on the body’s ability to process alcohol, and the financial and legal trouble that is awaiting for those convicted by a DUI.
The main distraction of driving is cell phones. Most adults and teens will engage in texting and driving. Due to the major issue of texting and driving many campaigns have been launched, one being launched by AT&T “when it comes to texting and driving, it can wait.” This campaign has many drivers take the pledge to no longer use their phone when driving, there is an available app that will send out automatic messages to anybody that sends a while the individual is driving. When someone is driving at the rate of 55 miles per hour for only 4.6 seconds, it will equal the length of a football field, 100 yards. So, even stopping full vision from the road for a few seconds will still risk serious danger. Another cause of distracted driving is being exhausted or tired, doing so will cause a much slower reaction time. The slower reaction time causes many of the accidents that happen when people are tired. Another possibility is falling asleep behind the wheel even for a few seconds you could drift, or swerv into another lane and hit another car causing a major or fatal car accident. When taking driving classes, the students within the class will hear the saying “stay alert, stay alive.” The final major distraction of driving is eating and drinking. One of the problems of eating and drinking while driving is that it causes both a visual and manual distraction. When removing your eyes from the road many dangers will be