Driving while Intoxicated Persuasive Essay

Did you know that in 2016, 10,497 people died from alcohol-impaired crashes? That means every 50 minutes, one person loses their life due to a person driving under the influence. Drunk driving is a serious problem that needs to be put to an end.

What even is a DUI? DUI stands for driving under the influence. A DUI is also sometimes referred to as a DWI, which means driving while intoxicated. Driving home with a BAC (blood-alcohol concentration) of 0.08% or higher would result in the person receiving a DUI.

The person would be legally considered drunk and therefore should never be allowed to drive home. Someone’s BAC is affected by their body weight/size. Basically, a heavier person can drink the same amount of alcohol than someone that’s lighter, and still have a lower BAC than the lighter person. BAC is also affected by the amount of alcohol someone drinks. This means that the more you drink, the higher your BAC will be. Some people think that if their blood-alcohol concentration level is below 0.08% they can still operate their vehicle legally, but an officer can still give the person a DUI if their BAC is from 0.05-0.07%, only if their behavior suggests they are impaired. If a driver’s chemical test shows that they have a BAC of 0.08% of more, the driver could get a DUI, and the repercussion would be having their driving privileges suspended for six months. Also, if a driver refuses to take a breath test, the driver may be liable for up to $500 for the costs of the blood tests if they are convicted of a DUI. That’s not all. A person’s first offense could include both criminal penalties and a longer licence reinstatement process if convicted. The State of Illinois estimates that the total cost of a 1st time offense could be up to $16,000. This includes increased insurance rates, temporary loss of income, court costs and lawyer fees.

Driving under the influence has become a common issue for younger adults or teenagers. Even though the Zero Tolerance Law makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to drive with any measurable alcohol in their blood, some teenagers still do it because they tend to think they are invincible. They go to parties and still drive home even after they had a few beers because they think it makes them look “cool.” Teenagers don’t take into account that they are not only risking their own lives by driving home, but other people’s lives too. They don’t understand that if they injure or kill someone, all of their hopes and dreams could be taken away because they would be convicted of killing or injuring an innocent person. For example, in the popular movie, Remember the Titans, the main character Gerry Bertier died from a drunk driver accident at age 29. I bet the driver didn’t realize what kind of affect he would have on people when he decided to drive that night. Also, studies show that many teens accepted a ride from a drunk driver within the past year. In my opinion, teenagers accept rides from people under the influence because they are put into peer pressure. They don’t want to say no to the driver, so they just say yes because they can be a little bit intimidated. In addition, if parents give their children a curfew, and if they happen to be running late coming home, they might risk it and drive home illegally just to make their curfew. Even though the percent of teenagers that drink and drive has dropped immensely since 1991 (it dropped by one-third in the past three decades), the issue of teen drinking and driving is still out of hand.

There are many ways people can help stop the problem of drunk drivers. Clearly there are laws set to try to end this, but legal action alone cannot help end drunk driving. The first thing anyone can do is make the choice themselves to not drink and drive. Anyone, even yourself, could end up causing a crash or getting a DUI. Another way to help end driving under the influence is to educate children on the effects and consequences on drinking and driving. Through this education, hopefully many people will understand the danger of drinking and driving. For example, every school’s driver education class should be teaching the students about the risk of intoxication. My driver education class has done a good job of that so far. In addition, parents should try to be good role models for their children and model good driving behavior. Also, if their child drinks, they could provide them with some way to get home, other than having them drive home themselves. The parents picking them up themselves is a much better option. Also, if someone is looking for a way to help, they could volunteer at an organization that is set out to help stop drinking and driving. This would help them to get the word out that there are many dangers in doing this action. People could donate to these organizations, too. Donations are what makes it possible to keep drivers educated and safe. In the United States and Canada, there is a very successful organization called MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) that strives to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, and prevent people drinking underage. They are also pushing for a stricter impaired driving policy. People should definitely consider donating to this organization because it is one of the best ones. Volunteering, donating, and fundraising are all ways someone can help with the MADD organization.

Overall, drunk driving and people getting DUIs needs to be put to an end because it puts so many people at risk, including the driver, passenger/passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians. All of these people are innocent and don’t deserve to have their life taken away because of one stupid mistake like driving under the influence. We also need to educate people on the issue of drunk driving and help organizations that try to stop drinking and driving. If we all work together, drunk driving can be a thing of the past and so many lives can be saved. 

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