Drinking & Driving
Drink Up and Go: Hazards and Facts about Driving Under Alcohol Influence
Drinking in parties is fun, but remember that if you’re driving you shouldn’t have too much. Drivers tend to be more aggressive when driving
under the influence of alcohol. Everyday, cases of drunk driving are rampant and more and more drivers are being arrested due to alcohol.
1 in every 5 arrested drivers have past records which involves drunk driving.
Drunk Driving and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Drunk driving is the act of driving a motor vehicle while under alcohol influence to the point that the driver’s mental and motor skills are impaired. In all the jurisdictions of the U.S., this kind of act is illegal. In the United States the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 17,941 people died in 2006 due to “alcohol-related” due to the presence of alcohol found.
Drunk driving can still be preventable. Although alcohol-related crashes dropped dramatically in recent decades, there are still many avoidable accidents. Unfortunately though, alcohol-impaired driving remains a very large problem that tragically victimize drivers annually.
Banning Cell Phones While Driving
There are several reasons that others point out for the banning of usage of cell phones while driving. Among them are due to distractions it makes for drivers which causes accidents and that cell phones causes cancer. Studies conclude that conversing on cell phones while driving may be as bad as driving drunk. Last 2003, Harvard University researchers concluded that “an all-out ban on usage of cell phones while driving would prevent around 330,000 auto-accident injuries and 2,600 fatalities a year.
Facts about Drunk Driving
Most drivers who had taken up alcoholic beverages have low blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) and some are involved in serious crashes. However, while fewer have BAC’s higher than .15, a much higher proportion of those motorists have serious crashes.
- The average BAC among fatally injured drinking drivers is 16
- Male drivers have the tendency to have high BAC and usually aged 25-35
Preventing Drunk Driving Accidents
The following methods are sure to lessen accidents caused by drunk driving:
- Enforcing existing 0.08% BAC laws aggressively, strictly implementing minimum legal drinking age laws, and absolutely zero tolerance for motorists younger than 21 years of age in all states.
- Utilizing checkpoints
- Implementing community-based awareness programs for the hazards of DUI and the penalties of being arrested
- Raising alcohol excise taxes
- Stronger state DUI prevention activities