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Approximately 5 million babies were born last year and approximately 11,000 people were killed due to drinking and driving related accidents in the United States. Over 1.2 million drivers were arrested in 2011 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. In today’s day and age, drinking is very common, as well as driving. When you mix those two things together, problems are caused, people are injured, lives are taken, jails get more inmates, and families are forced to mourn the lives of their innocent loved ones. There are hundreds and hundreds of problems in today’s world; cancer, murder, kidnapping, rape, abortions, addictions, health care, and more. Drinking and driving is also a problem. It is one that is completely unnecessary and shouldn’t be a problem at all. Although, out of all those problems it is the easiest one to fix. Drinking and driving is a major problem in the US today for many different reasons. Sometimes, it is a problem because people think they can have couple drinks and still be coherent. They think to themselves, “I’m not going far, I’ll be okay”...
People do not realize how much of a problem drinking and driving can cause, not only in the United States but all over the world. In 2009, 1.4 million drivers have been arrested, but the influenced by alcohol or drugs. There is a very high percentage of motorcycle fatalities and about a third of them are alcohol accidents and there levels are above legal
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,...
PURPOSE: To persuade my audience NOT to drink and drive Every person is accountable for his or her own “right to drink”. Failure to treat this or any “right” responsibly has consequences. The person’s “right” can and should be taken away when the failure to act responsibly endangers others.
Driving is a privilege Americans have been afforded since the invention of the automobile in the late 1800’s. Yet with great power comes great responsibility. One of the responsibilities associated with being able to drive several tons of metal at high speeds is the responsibility of doing so without any distractions or impairments. Choosing to drive drunk puts not only the driver in danger, but also everyone else in the car and on the road. Currently, the average drunk driver will drive eighty times before getting caught by the police (1). On average, one third of all people will be involved in a drunk driving accident during the course of their lifetimes (7). Whereas driving drunk once can be seen as a mistake and a one-time lapse in judgment, choosing to recklessly ignore the law and the safety of others is a serious offense against society. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that one in three persons arrested for drunk driving are repeat offenders (2).
Driving under the influence is extremely dangerous. Those who drink and drive tend to have an increased risk of car accidents, highway injuries, and vehicular fatalities. However, there are countless ways to prevent drunk driving. Professor David J. Hanson at the sociology department at the State University of New York states that “designated drivers have saved nearly 50,000 lives and spared many more thousands of people from suffering injury from drunk driving. It is a proven fact that almost 30 people in the US die every day in a motor vehicle accident involving a driver impaired by alcohol.” Every accident caused by drunk driving is one hundred percent preventable.
No one can deny that driving drink has caused traffic deaths and injuries. Drunk driving is one of the most frequently committed crimes in the United States, killing someone approximately every 48 minutes. Drunk driving is “A time when humans willingly enter cages of glass and steel that move in such great numbers at such terrific speed, that subtle turn of the steering wheel can easily result in death” (Thomas). What possesses a person to get ...
Drunk driving is an issue that effects many people across our nation. People do not realize the affects alcohol can have on the body and mind that slow decision making while driving. This issue begins in the home. Children see their parents, or other adults figures, have a beer or a cocktail and get in the car. Thus, making it seem like it is acceptable to drink and drive. “One in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime” (MADD).
Drunk driving has been an increasing problem for many years. One issue that contributes to this is that in the United States it is actually legal to drive with a certain alcohol percentage. The blood alcohol limit is 0.8 percent (Drunk Driving). This means that a person may drive legally as long as they have a blood alcohol percentage of 0.8 percent or under. However, even at a percentage of 0.3 there may be some impairment of alertness and concentration (Drunk Driving). Driving requires fast reflexes that may be impaired at a 0.5 percent blood alcohol level but a person with this level of intoxication is not legally drinking and driving. Many people are arrested for drunk driving. In 2009, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving while under the influence (Drunk Driving). In addition, “an average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before their first arrest” (Get Involved). Therefore, there were a minimum of 112 million accounts of drunk driving in 2009 alone. Drunk drivers also cause an increasing number of deaths. Drunk drivers in the United States c...
According to MADD, in 2012 30% of traffic deaths were a result of drunken driving fatalities. There were over 1200 accidents caused by drunk driving, with over 700 injuries. It’s not always the person drinking that is affected by these accidents. Innocent people are seriously injured and even killed every day as a result of other people drinking and driving. Why should they or their families pay for this bad judgment? The worst part is these accidents are preventable. If you are going to drink be responsible enough not to drive. It’s not just your life that could be
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that action is needed to deal with the problem
When someone makes the decision to consume alcoholic beverages, it should go without saying that they should also be choosing to be a responsible drinker. Being a responsible drinker means not consuming more alcohol than their body can handle and more importantly, not getting behind the wheel of any type of vehicle after drinking. In an article written by high school student Steven Engler, he says it well; “If you choose to use it, do it responsibly, and don’t put anyone’s life in danger, including your own.” (New York Times, 2003) No matter the person’s age or the type of alcohol consumed, alcohol lowers a person’s inhibitions and ability to think clearly, while also increasing their chances of engaging in risky activities. It is possible for a person to have a few drinks, relax and have a good time however, all too often people overdo it and end up making bad decisions that they most often regret. Many times, the worst of these decisions is convincing themselves that they are “fine” and what they drank will not impair their driving. Some may say that these individuals simply “made a mistake.” Yes, everyone does make mistakes however, driving while intoxicated is not a mistake that affects only them, it is something that affects and risks the lives of many people and themselves. The sad thing is that drunk driving is one hundred percent preventable and therefore the loss of lives due to the recklessness of drinking and driving is preventable as well. Mr. Bloomberg hit the nail on the head when he said “Simply put, drunk driving is selfish, criminal and it kills, and we are not going to tolerate it.” (New York Times, 2002) Drinking and driving is a selfish act made by a person who seemingly does not care about the people around th...
Driving under the influence is one of the most common and dangerous situations in which anyone can be or be placed. Drinking and driving is a serious offence that can cause someone to be physically harm or even killed. Not only are you putting yourself at risk but you are also risking the lives of passengers in the car as well as any other car and occupants sharing the road with you. Many people believe that increasing fines for drunk driving offenders will play a compelling role in cutting down the occurrences of driving under the influence. However, while harsher DUI laws will look effective on paper, they will not make a significant step in the fight against drunk driving. Although there is a law enforced for drinking and driving in the
The growing awareness of alcohol hazards has made people more cautious of their drinking habits, particularly young adults. At present young adults have the highest prevalence of alcohol consumption than any other age group. They also drink more heavily, experience more negative consequences, and engage in more harmful activities, specifically drunk driving. Although surveys have documented a decline in recent years, consumption rates remain highest from late teen years to the late twenties (Johnston1-3). Despite the long-term decline since 1982 in alcohol related traffic deaths, a 4 percent increase occurred between 1994 and 1995 among young adults age 21 and over (Hingson 4). As alcohol-impaired driving persists, legal and community initiatives intervene to help reduce the problem, as well as, continuing research on possible solutions.
Alcohol is something that people use to help with multiply different things and some studies have shown that alcohol may help protect our bodies from cardiovascular disease. Alcohol does have side effects to our health the surroundings around us and can cause violence, vehicle crashes and even suicide. Alcohol does have an effect on people that many social drinkers may not realize. Many people usually have tried alcohol around 13 years of age and high school students consume more wine coolers that are sold in the U.S. and they drink more than 1 billion beers a year. To understand the effects of alcohol, it begins with the brain. It is a curiosity as to why people feel the need to drink and drive. The way the brain works while influenced with alcohol has always fascinated me. Drinking and driving is one of the biggest decisions that alcohol leads to. The National Public Services Research Institute (NHTSA) did a study on 600 people who admitted driving while under the influence of alcohol. They described in detail the decisions they made leading up to the occurrence of driving while impaired like whether to take part in a drinking event, how to get to the event, how much to drink, and how to get home. The people being interviewed revealed more than 2,000 individual decisions that led to alcohol impaired driving. The decisions were then broken down into several categories as shown on the graph attached. Little is known as to what leads people to continue to drinking and driving. But as research shows, people do think, prior to drinking, how they will get home. It’s after they have already had been drinking that they decide to get behind the wheel.
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.