Introduction
Drunk driving, or driving under the influence of alcohol is posing a great challenge on the roads because it is risking the lives of the drivers, their passengers, and other road users such as pedestrians and drivers of other vehicles on the road. According to the national statistics released by The Century Council: Distillers Fighting Drunk Driving and Underage Drinking and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 32,900 people died in traffic crashes in 2010 (NHTSA/FARS and US Census Bureau, 2011). However, 31 percent of these deaths (10,230) were as a result of drunk driving. Despite the measures taken to control drunk driving and the resulting accidents, more still needs to be done in order to bring sanity on the roads. Most of the drivers under the influence of toxic substances range between 18 years and 25 years, which is the hyperactive age of the adolescent boys and girls.
The Plan and Solution
The plan to reduce and control drunk driving can be categorized into educational, legislative, and community support. On the legislative front, the Driving While Intoxicates (DWI), also known as Driving Under Influence (DUI) courts are very important in controlling drunk driving. These courts use substance abuse measures and treatment with offenders who plead guilty of driving under influence. Sobriety courts, accountability courts, and wellness courts are other effective institutions of reducing drunken driving crimes. These courts address the problems of first time and repeat hard-core offenders using utilitarianism, which ensures that potential offenders desist from committing such offenses. Other legislative measures include automatic revocation of licenses alongside mandatory jail sentences of the drivers found guilty of driving under influence. Additionally, the licenses or the vehicles can be impounded or confiscated.
Education is the most powerful tool in managing most of the societal problems related to insufficient knowledge. However, drivers under influence do not necessarily lack the knowledge, but seems to disregard most of this information about the dangers of drunk drivers and assume they could be different (CDC, 2011). Therefore, the drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 years should be educated on the importance of remaining sober on the roads, and give them the statistics of road accidents related to drunk driving. For instance, the relative risk of deaths for drivers in single vehicle crashes with high blood alcohol content is 385 times and 707 for male drivers’ times that of the zero blood alcohol content drivers (Kasar, Gleichgerrcht, Keskinkilic, Tabo, & Manes, 2010). These figures could discourage the drinking habits of this group of the population. Additionally, rehabilitation programs should ensure that they educate the addicts not only on reducing or controlling their alcohol consumption, but also impart knowledge about staying safe on the roads.
Finally, community support is very important in reducing drunk driving and its consequences. For instance, the manufactures of the alcoholic substances should ensure that they discourage drunk driving in their TV and other commercials. The families of these youths should also participate in warning and cautioning the latter on the negative effects of drunk driving such as fatal accidents, which might not only result to death, but also bodily injuries that might cause impairments (De Boni, Do Nascimento Silva, Bastos, Pechansky, & de Vasconcellos, 2012). Additionally, the public should assist law enforcement mechanisms through reporting cases of drunk driving to the police for prosecution.
References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (October 4, 2011). Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/features/vitalsigns/drinkinganddriving/
NHTSA/FARS and US Census Bureau. (2011). Drunk Driving Fatalities - National Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.centurycouncil.org/drunk-driving/drunk-driving-fatalities-national-statistics
Kasar, M., Gleichgerrcht, E., Keskinkilic, C., Tabo, A., & Manes, F. (2010). Decision-making in people who relapsed to driving under the influence of alcohol. Alcoholism, Clinical And Experimental Research, 34(12), 2162-2168. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01313.x
De Boni, R., Do Nascimento Silva, P., Bastos, F., Pechansky, F., & de Vasconcellos, M. (2012). Reaching the Hard-to-Reach: A Probability Sampling Method for Assessing Prevalence of Driving under the Influence after Drinking in Alcohol Outlets. Plos ONE, 7(4), 1-9. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034104
