Increasing Statistics of Drunk Driving
Uploaded by CaseyP on Aug 10, 2016
Thesis: The failure by ‘driving under the influence of alcohol’ laws by various states to curb the increasing ‘drunk driving’, means they should be reinforced further immediately
Main point 1: Under the ‘National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984’ every over-age American is guaranteed of their right to purchase or consume an alcoholic beverage. However, people have tended misuse this right to drink by driving while drinking. Various states in U.S. have different laws that seek to regulate drunk driving. Despite the enactment of these laws and continuous development of same, statistics indicate drunk driving has increased rapidly. This necessitates more reinforcement of these laws to curb both motivation and the act of drunk driving. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), twenty-eight people in U.S. die daily in vehicles accidents which involve alcohol-impaired drivers. This means there is one death after every fifty-three minutes, caused by drunk driving. The total cost of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes is $44 billion annually. Making an amendment to the current laws by the inclusion of such clauses as illegal per se offense of driving with BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) above a set limit say 0.08%, would help to reduce the drunk-driving related death toll.
Main point 2: Second, states’ laws of ‘drunk driving’ should be reinforced further because of the annual increase in the number of alcohol driving related cases. In 2014, alcohol-impaired driving led to the death of 9, 967 people in U.S. (which accounted for about 31% of all death related to traffic accidents in the U.S.). This was 3.8% increase in alcohol -impaired driving related deaths compared to that of 2013. On addition to death, 1.1 million drivers were arrested in the same year for driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2013 900 965 drivers were arrested and charged with the same offense. This indicates the rate of drunk driving is increasing over the years despite existence of drunk driving statutory offences under operating under the influence (OUI), driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI) and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) laws by various states in U.S. Reinforcing these laws will reverse the trend of increasing alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes.
Main point 3: Third, states’ laws of ‘drunk driving’ should be reinforced further because they have failed to attain their objective of reducing social costs and emotional stability of American people. Each crash, each injury, each death...