Drunk Driving in America and Penalty - Research Paper Example

? Drunk Driving in America and Panalty Introduction Drunk driving has been regarded as an important problem in America that continues to plague the American highways causing several deaths and injuries. According to the estimated almost 40percent of the road accidents in American involve at least one drunk driver or bicyclist. Most of the drunk drivers are found with alcohol level of 0.10 or above that is illegal for the drivers. The number of drunken driving accident has been increased in the country with alarming rate and several rules, laws strategies and policies have also been made to combat this serious problem. In order to deal with the dilemma of drunk driving every state has formulated and implemented different sets of drunk driving laws, enforcements, courts and procedure of punishment. It is found that sometimes the complexity of the laws allow the offenders to escape without facing any punishment whereas the offenders can also avoid the conviction through plea bargain. The experts have identified some flaws in the drunken driving laws and have called for making some necessary changed in the punishment structure to avoid further cases of drunken driving accidents. The essay aims to discuss the effects of drunk driving and the laws made to prevent drunk driving. The essay also examines the effectiveness of these laws and need to make them stricter. Effects of Drunk Driving Drunk driving draws serious and long lasting impacts upon the health and lives of the people involved however, it is commonly observed that people are not well aware of the serious consequences of this habit and they realize it very late. The seriousness of the drunken driving impact could be estimated from the fact that every thirty minute a person is killed and every two minute a person is injured in America due to drunk driving. It has been regarded as the most frequently committed crime in the country that is spreading despite all the efforts and strategies of the authorities. Due to the increased frequency of these cases it is estimated that every three of ten American would got involved in the accident of drunk driving in any phase of the life. Drunk driving not only cause harm to the drivers but the public safety is also seriously threaten due to this problem. Thousands of people are killed every year in America as a result of such accidents and thousands of other got injuries when they got involved in the accidents where the driver is drunk (Hedlund and McCartt, 2002). The drunk driving also because damage of property, vehicles and other objects that came in the circle of the vehicle being driven by a drunk driver. Hence, drunk driving cause both financial and human loss and has become a very tough challenge for the society (Scott, 2006). Drunk driving is very common in America. Almost 21percent of the Americans have informed that they have driven after drinking in the part years which means that millions of trips are taken by the drunk drivers each year, many of them resulted in accidents and injuries. Though there are several laws formulated to prevent drinking driving but these laws are not very harsh. The arrests of the drunk drivers are very rare in America because people are usually released after warning or small punishment. There is need to develop improved drunk driving control system in order to assure that the people who drive after drinking are arrested consistently and are also convicted and punished according to the law. People must be made aware that they have to face stick legal procedure when they will catch involved in the drunken driving incident (Valle, 1986). Drunk Driving Laws and Punishments The effects of drunk driving have compelled the states to crack down on the offenders of the drinking driving laws and to make the legal framework more effective to deal with such people in very harsh manner. The terms DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving while intoxicated) are commonly used to refer to the offenders of the drinking driving laws and it is strongly demanded by the society that these offenders must be dealt strictly so that other people could learn lesson from them and remain careful about drinking while driving. The authorities have worked to create awareness among people about the consequences of drunk driving and punishment for this offence. The New York State department for motor vehicle has clearly state in the drinking driving laws that drinking and driving is a hazardous combination that can cause serious harms of the lives. They warn people that drunk driving harms the safety of people because the safe driving skills especially that of the youngsters are lost when they drive after drinking alcohol. The "Open container" law prohibits the drivers or passengers to possess alcohol in the vehicles with the intention to consume it during the drive (NYSDMV, 2010). It is also observed that the offenders of drinking driving laws escape from the punishment became many of the drivers refuse to take BAC test. In order to make it necessary for the drivers there is need to establish penalties structure for the people who refuse to take the BAC test. These penalties should be as severe as that of failing BAC test so that people should be forces to take this test anyway and the offenders could be sorted out regularly for further procedures (Hedlund and McCartt, 2002). The authorities have to increase their concern and attention towards the issues that are hindering the decline of drunken driving cases. The DWI enforcement levels and arrests rates are very low in the country. For combating this problem it is important to simplify the procedure and paperwork involved in drinking driving cases. The police force must be provided with necessary training and equipment to deal with these cases. Moreover, the drinking age of 21 and zero tolerance laws for the fewer than 21 age drivers should also be implemented (Hedlund and McCartt, 2002). The laws are now made more aligned with the requirements of the situation in many states. In New York it is clearly stated in the law that of a driver will refuse to take the test his license would be cancels and for at least one year he would not be able to get it back. This is very positive step that compel the drivers to take the test and prove that they are involved in the offence of the law or not. After the test it is the duty of the authorities to quickly follow the legal procedure. Despite the implementation of DWI laws it is commonly seen that many of the drunk drivers are not arrests. To deal with this issue it is important to eliminate the option of plea bargain for these offenders and the diversions should also be eliminated that allows the offenders to escape the punishments. The administrative hearing of the drunk driving case must also be made necessary so that the offenders could realize the seriousness of the situation and the other people would also came to know about the potential outcomes of drunk driving (Scott, 2006). Hence, it is found that the drunken driving laws are formulated and implemented in America from time to time but it is also a fact that the cases of drunk driving are not reducing in the country and each passing year the number of casualties from the drunken driving accident in increasing. It implies that there is need of making the laws stricter to discourage the trend of driving after drinking or drinking while driving. This is important for overall safety of the society. References Evans, W.N., Neville, D. and Graham, D.H. (1991). General Deterrence of Drunk Driving: Evaluation of Recent American Policies, RiskAnalysis, Vol. 11, No. 2, 1991, pp279-289 Hedlund, J.H. and McCartt, A.T. (2002). Drunk Driving: Seeking Additional Solutions, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Retrieved online from http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/drunkdriving-seekingadditionalsolutions.pdf NYSDMV (2010). You and the Drinking Driving Laws, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved online from http://www.dmv.ny.gov/broch/c-39DDL-web.pdf Scott, M. S. (2006). Drunk Driving, Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific Guides Series No. 36, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Valle, S.K., (1986). Drunk driving in America: strategies and approaches to treatment, NY: Routledge Read More