Mothers Against Drunk Driving Essay

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Recommended: Stricter laws to prevent drunk driving

Drunk driving has continued to be an ongoing crisis that has led to indiscriminate injury, loss of life and property damage. Having more stringent law enforcement in the form of more sobriety checkpoints would allow alleged violators to be arrested, charged and adjudicated. Penalties may be assessed based on blood alcohol content, driving history and prior offences so that financial penalties, driving restrictions and/or rehabilitative treatment can be ordered through the judicial system. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC www.cdc.gov ) reports the following statistic, “Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 51 minutes. …show more content…

Since the over thirty years of their inception, the number of drunken driving deaths has been cut in half through their efforts in victim support, legislative changes and awareness campaigns [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration FARS data, 2012] . MADD has identified sobriety checkpoint sting operations as a key area in stemming the potential damage from drunk driving by not only nabbing the drivers while they are actually impaired but also collecting the evidence through breathalyzer analysis to present strong, scientific evidence in court to make a better case on the part of law enforcement and the judicial process. Besides providing evidence for court, sobriety checkpoints are an effective deterrent by preventing some people from taking the risk of driving drunk especially during holidays that are associated with an increase in celebratory alcohol consumption. The knowledge that enhanced enforcement will be implemented during these times will reduce or eliminate dangerous consumption of alcohol for some who might be tempted to go overboard and drive drunk. In a sign of success, responsible

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