Over 119,000 people died as a result of drunk driving in the United States from 2003 to 2011. Driving under the influence of alcohol impairs the driver’s ability to make the proper reactions in order to safely conduct a vehicle. Their impaired abilities put the lives of other drivers and innocent bystanders at risk. Drunk driving affects people of all ages, but has a large impact on younger groups of people. In 2017, 42% of drunk driving related deaths were people between 16 and 24 years of age. In addition, the highest percent of drunk drivers in the year were 21 to 24 year olds comprising of 27% of all drunk drivers. Although drunk drivers can be punished by insurance companies, interlock systems, breathalizers and liscence points, roughly 800 people are injured in drunk driving accidents daily.
I could consider drunk driving to be an accidental cause. While drunk drivers willingly become intoxicated and make the decision to get behind the wheel of a car, most of the time they do not intend to kill people when they drive. Impaired driving is a poor decision however people do not make that decision because they hope to kill someone on the road. While this issue is more of an accidental cause, it does not make these actions acceptable by any means. I feel that it could also be argued as an intentional cause since the drivers willingly got drunk and chose to drive knowing that their condition would diminish their ability to drive safely. I feel like drunk driving could fall into either category.
I would consider mandates to be the best solution to the issue of drunk driving. Harsher punishments need to be taken against drunk drivers to prevent people from doing it more than once but to also give drivers a reason not to do it in the first place. I think that there should be different levels of punishment based off of a certain BAC, but at a certain BAC the minimum punishment should be jailtime, even if no one has been harmed. Regular offences should always be met with heavy fines and should restrict the offender’s ability to drive. Many people continue to die from drunk driving each year; harsher punishments for this action should prevent people from drinking and driving. With less impaired drivers on the road, the world will be safer for people operating vehicles or simply just passing by.
Works Cited:
“Drunk Driving Statistics + Facts (Including a 2021 Survey): The Zebra.” Drunk Driving Statistics + Facts (Including a 2021 Survey) | The Zebra, Insurance Zebra, 16 Mar. 2021, www.thezebra.com/resources/research/drunk-driving-statistics/#:~:text=Drunk%20driving%20statistics%20in%202020&text=35.8%25%20of%20respondents%20identified%20Generation,year%20olds)%20with%2031.0%25.
“Facts and Laws about Drinking and Driving.” Auto-Related News, Trends, & Tips – I Drive Safely, I Drive Safely, 2021, www.idrivesafely.com/defensive-driving/trending/facts-and-laws-about-drinking-and-driving.
Drunk driving is definetly a huge problem within the states. This is well written and you have a clear train of thought. Keep up the good work.
I like this idea as drunk driving is clearly a problem in the U.S., I’m interested to see how a mandate would work for you, because there are already mandates in place that are relatively strict.
I think this issue is great to cover and your position would put you in a great spot to explain your opinions and reasonings.