ESSAY

Essay

Essay

Introduction

Driving while impaired is one of the nation's most frequently committed violent crimes, and Americans rank drunk driving as their number one highway safety concern. Each year, 42,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes, and more than 16,000 of these fatalities are alcohol or drug related. However, fatalities and injuries involving impaired driving, also known as drunk and drugged driving, are largely preventable. Although the definition of impaired driving includes drug-induced impairment, most of the research and arrest data focus on impairment caused by alcohol (Hingson, 2008).

Since 1990, alcohol-related fatalities have been reduced by 25%, from 22,084 in 1990 to 16,653 in 2000. However, in more recent years, the rate of such incidents has been slowly creeping up again. But the overall reduction since 1990 is due largely to concerted efforts by both the public and private sectors, and can be attributed to factors such as the passage of stronger state and federal laws prompted by organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, tougher enforcement of these laws, the integration of technological tools to identify impaired drivers, stiffer sentences, and the creation and implementation of educational/promotional campaigns (Dellinger, 2006). All of these efforts have contributed to a change in public attitudes and beliefs about the dangers of drinking and drugged driving.

Argument

Despite the progress that has been made, in 2000, alcohol-related fatalities accounted for 40% of the total traffic fatalities for the year. These figures represent an average of one alcohol-related crash every 32 minutes. Approximately 1.5 million drivers were arrested in 1999 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, an arrest rate of one for every 121 licensed drivers in the United States. Recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics indicate that alcohol-related crashes cost society $40 billion per year. This conservative estimate does not include pain, suffering, or lost quality of life (Hingson, 2008). About 3 in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives.

Impaired driving is operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. In 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, it is illegal to drive once the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level has reached .08. Separately, these activities might be socially acceptable and legal; however, in combination, they can have devastating consequences. An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash occurs when a motor vehicle collides with a nonoccupant (e.g., a pedestrian, a bicyclist) or an ...