Discuss Paper – Drunk Driving

This paper will discuss many reasons why one shouldn’t drink and drive. There are many more cons rather than pros to discuss on this topic. Some of the things that will be discussed in this paper are the meanings behind some terms, death tolls, and other factual examples on why drinking and driving is bad. Another thing that will be discussed in this paper are charges you could be faced with if you are caught by the authorities.

Let’s start off with why drinking and driving is bad or why you shouldn’t do it whatsoever.

First of all drinking and driving is against the law and you could be charged with a hefty fine. The first time if you get stopped for drinking and driving, you can get charged up to $500 or even lose your driver’s license for a 60-day suspension. Anyone who is under the influence of alcohol can put anyone at risk of an injury or serious accident. In about every 120 seconds, somebody is hurt or seriously injured in a drunk driving incident. In America, every 21 minutes or so, somebody is killed in a drunk driving accident. This comes to about 27 people who get killed from drunk driving a day.

The dangers of drinking and driving that someone can experience are slow reaction times, lack of coordination, decrease of vision, and inhibit judgment. Having a slow reaction while driving can be catastrophic. Meaning if you aren’t careful you could crash. Lack of coordination means that you are unable to control your body movements. For example if you have this while you are drinking and driving, you might be too drunk to control yourself while you drive.

Decrease in vision means that your eyesight is not functioning properly. This is very serious because if you aren’t able to see properly while you drive, there’s a chance you could crash and seriously get yourself or get someone injured. Lastly is inhibited judgment. Inhibit judgment is where you make poor choices. An example of this is when you are drinking and driving and you are super drunk where you’re throwing up all over the place, and you still decide to keep on drinking. All of these results in you getting hurt or seriously injuring or killing someone.

Teens and kids who are involved with alcohol at a young age are 7 times more likely to get in a car crash in their lives. This is usually caused by living with irresponsible parents or growing up with the wrong people causing the kid or teen to make irrational decisions like drinking at a young age. In 2010, 17% of the fatalities were more common among children around the ages of 14 and younger. Alcohol should never be given to kids what so ever. This sets your child to make bad choices in life if they are continuously influenced or taught these bad actions.

9,878 people were victims of drunk drivers in the year of 2011. It may not seem like a lot, but it adds up. Drunk driving costs an adult American $800 per year on average. This means that these people are wasting their money to get wasted rather than using that money on better or important things they could get. On average a drunk driver will drive as much as 80 times while under the influence of alcohol before their first arrest. Since the early 1980s, alcohol related traffic deaths have been cut in half. That’s an actual good thing because of the laws we have today set limits towards alcohol consumption. Back then the laws were less strict because they didn’t know the consequences that people would have to face while drinking and driving. For instance you could potentially lose your life.

Nearly 75% of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes aren’t wearing seatbelts. This is a very common occurrence because they either forget or just don’t care to put the seatbelt on. Again this is another example on why drinking and driving is bad. Your seat belt is important because it keeps you from being ejected out your front windshield. If involved in a crash you and you are wearing your seatbelt chances you surviving are high. About 50 to 75% of the people who got their licenses taken away from drinking and driving drive illegally without their license. They do this without caring at all for themselves or the safety of others. These people are the ones who don’t care about the law and break the law pretty often.

There is a myth that states that coffee, cold showers, or exercise will make a person more sober but it’s not true. Only time will make a person more sober. This is because doing or trying these options will make you more alert. Even though you are more alert the alcohol is still running in your system. You will still be intoxicated just as before you consumed the coffee. This basically means you are wide awake and drunk. The alcohol gets absorbed into your bloodstream and is carried throughout your body. A part of your body that breaks down the alcohol is your liver. It will break as much alcohol as it can but if there is any remainder alcohol left in your system it will go to your brain. This is why you may not remember anything that you did the past night or day when you were drinking.

It takes 3-4 beers for a 170 pound male to make him too drunk to drive. For a female it may take them about 1-3 beers to be too drunk to drive depending on the individual. Everyone has their limits to what they can drink. When drinking and driving, and you get pulled over to get checked they will check your BAC level to see if your fine or not. The Lowest being .05 just means you feel a little tired. On the other hand the highest BAC level is .45 which is extremely dangerous. Symptoms you may experience could be life threatening or even death. Always take precaution when you drink, so you don’t get involved with a bad accident.

(AUD) stands for Alcohol use disorder. It means a person who consumes large amounts of alcohol in a short period. This can be a serious problem because it’s a medical diagnosis where you have a problem with drinking. It basically means that your an addict of drinking alcohol. Symptoms one can experience is the uncontrollable urge to keep on drinking and unable to stop drinking in large quantities in a short amount of time. Although this is extremely dangerous because of your health.

(DUI) stands for drinking under the influence and is the act for operating a motor vehicle with a (BAC) Blood Alcohol Concentration level over the legal state limit. Males are more likely to drive under the influence rather than a female. Alcohol is the number one drug over all the other drugs. (BAC) stands for Blood Alcohol Concentration. There are different BAC levels with meanings behind each one. As stated earlier the lowest being .05 while the highest is a .45 which is considered as life threatening. (DWI) stands for Driving While Intoxicated. A simple way to put it is that you are driving while being drunk.

Work Cited

1. “”Alcohol-Related Traffic Deaths”” National Institute of Health. Accessed October 5th, 2015, http://report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/Pdfs/AlcoholRelatedTrafficDeaths(NIAAA).pdf ??
2. Bacharach, Samuel B., Peter Bamberger, and Michal Biron. “”Alcohol Consumption And Workplace Absenteeism: The Moderating Effect Of Social Support..””Journal of Applied Psychology 95, no. 2 (2010): 334-348. Accessed February 25, 2014. ??
3. Blum MD, MPH, PhD, Robert Wm., and Farah Qureshi, MHS. “”Morbidity and Mortality among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States.”” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Accessed February 26, 2014, http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center-for-adolescent-health/az/_images/US%20Fact%20Sheet_FINAL.pdf. ??
4. Centers for Disease Control. “Vital Signs: Alcohol-Impaired Driving Among Adults — United States, 2010.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. October 4, 2011 ??
5. Dept of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2013 Data: Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2014 Accessed 2015 May 18 ??
6. Loyola University. “”Drunk Driving Statistics & Facts.”” Loyola University Medical Center Injury Prevention Program. Accessed February 26, 2014, http://www.stritch.luc.edu/depts/injprev/transprt/tran1-06.htm. ??
7. National Institutes of Health. “”Underage Drinking.”” he National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Accessed February 26, 2014, http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm. ??
8. The Economic and Societal Impact Of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010.” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, May 2014, DOT HS 812 013. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812013.pdf ??
9. The Economic and Societal Impact Of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010.” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, May 2014, DOT HS 812 013. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812013.pdf ??
10. “”Traffic Safety Facts:2010 Data.”” National Highway Sater Administration. Accessed October 6th, 2015, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811606.pdf ??”

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