Driving Drunk: A Deadly Combination of Alcohol & Distraction - Research Paper

Introduction

Driver's distraction is found to be one of the primary causes of accidents. Alcohol usually has negative influences on the body; generally, it slows down the brain reaction and the reaction of the body as a whole. Many believe that driving under the influence of alcohol is responsible for over 25% of deaths that are typically related to road accidents (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). This belief can be usually considered to be true since the use of alcohol certainly can result in poor coordination, slurred speech, double vision; it may also reduce self-consciousness. There is a legal limit to how much alcohol an individual can have in their blood while driving; therefore, violation of these laws and regulation is an offence (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Drunk driving is one of the most crimes that are not predicted upon intentional harm to a person or deliberate destruction to property.

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In some cases, driving while drunk is classified as felony despite the fact whether the driver cause destruction to a property, killed or injured a person (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Most drivers continue violating the law; they often get behind the wheel while drunk despite warnings, public awareness, educational programs, harsh penalties for violation and even imprisonment (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Therefore, DUIs have blindly taken the lives of many innocent citizens; many people thus think the punishment for this offence does not meet its destruction (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019).

When a drunk driver or an intoxicated individual decides to get behind the wheel to drive or ride an automobile, they endanger the lives of other road users. Their decision may not seem important at the time; however, it can result in a fatal impact. It is known very well that while an individual is making a choice of whether or not to drive or ride a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol, they already know the consequences of their action but take extremely uneducated decisions. Every driver is well aware of the laws and consequences against driving under the influence of alcohol (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Their hasty decisions destroy families of other road users and even their own families through accidents. The entire lives of the victims' families are ruined due to the sudden deaths of their loved ones, while the offender can only be subjected to fine depending on the prosecution. According to US statistics, almost 12,000 people die every year due to alcohol-related accidents (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). This number of death is undoubtedly high, and this can portray the lives of victims' families affected. Therefore an individual can come to a conclusion that there severity and jurisdiction of the DUI cases should be taken into consideration; the state should determine the length of a jail sentence for the individuals driving while drunk.

While the fight against drinking under the influence of alcohol seems to be challenging, severe penalties and turf regulations may help eradicate the number of deaths caused by alcohol-related accidents. There should be critical jail term for the individuals found driving with an alcohol content of more than 0.08%; however, the content level should also be lowered to 0.04% in an attempt to save as many lives as possible (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). The length of jail term should also be increased from six months jail term in county jails for the individuals found driving while drink for the first time since every accident can cause a loss of life or destruction to property.

Most of the states, including the United States, have chosen some of the strictest for the crime with the hope that enforcing at least minimum jail sentence might prevent individuals from driving while drunk. However, an increased number of people going to jail due to DUI cases can result in a negative impact on the rate and of growth of the economy. Thus, other possible solutions have been used and should continue to be employed. Such strategies include education; when the general public gets proper knowledge on the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol; they finally have the ability to make appropriate decisions when it comes to time to choose whether or not to drive while drunk (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Individuals underlying addiction to alcohol are taken for rehabilitation for the addiction instead of being sentenced to jail; this helps them manage their addiction, thus reducing the number of DUI cases (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Server intervention, laws and media campaigns can also help reduce the number of people driving while drunk thus reducing the number of alcohol-related accidents. Some devices that can detect an intoxicated driver and keeping the car from starting have also been proposed and seen as one of the essential possible solutions (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019).

Unfortunately, irrespective of this significant progress, DUI cases have remained a severe problem tragically affecting many people (Freiburger, & Sheeran, 2019). Because driving while drunk is a great danger and threat to other road users and the society as a whole, offenders should, therefore, be punished to prevent reckless driving and alcohol-related deaths in future. Driving under the influence of alcohol is, therefore, a crime since it may lead to severe injuries and even death. It is a danger to public safety and requires urgent elimination; therefore, individuals found driving under the control of alcohol should go to jail. However, every individual should apply the wisdom of commonsense and avoid driving under the influence of alcohol.

Reference

Freiburger, T. L., & Sheeran , A. M. (2019). Evaluation of safe streets treatment option to reduce recidivism among repeat drunk driving offenders. Criminal justice policy review, 30(9), 1368-1384. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0887403418789473