By: Benedict Smythe
Submitted: 2008-08-12 19:00:33 | Word Count: 536
Contrary to the expected effects of increased campaigns and legislatures against drunk driving, the number of fatalities has an insignificant decrease of 0.2 only. The number of lives saved may not be the result of more stringent policies or persuasion of activist groups against drunk driving.
Same Offenders
[ advertisement ]
Drinking under the influence (DUI) laws may have tried to impose harsher penalties but statistics show that most of the arrested drivers are repeat offenders. Media have also noticed that these repeat offenders have received scores of violation slips.
One news item reported a man who have been issued 12 DUIs within a decade and have killed two students of a local college. The community was outraged by the incident. Phone calls flooded radio shows most of which were inquiries about the court decision when the man was arrested on the 3rd, 8th, and 11th DUI offense.
The people of that community raised an important issue of liability of the repeat DUI offenders and the accountability of the legal system which definitely has a clear gap with regard to handling cases of repeat driving under the influence offenders.
Suspended Drivers are still on the Roads
Sixty seven per cent of drivers in the United States who are suspended still remain on the roads. It appears that the technological advancements are of no practical use to implement important laws like the one for drunk driving. Some of the features even have online verification for vehicle registration and driver identification.
What America is Doing
The federal government and concerned citizens have pushed for stricter laws against driving under the influence of alcohol.
Across the United States, new stricter laws have been passed and enforced by new driving task groups. Citizen activist for responsible driving are also creating noise to promote their causes. Some states have passed laws to make businesses liable if their customers get involve in DUI accidents.
There are also initiatives to lobby laws requiring alcoholism treatment for citizens incarcerated due to alcohol related wrongdoings. Social transformations for improvement of the American attitude towards drinking are also being encouraged.
In general, the society is more conscious of the ill effects of drinking and the dangerous boundaries it crosses when one goes on driving under the influence. There is a call to balance the positioning of alcohol products with the health viewpoint of alcohol consumption.
Consumption of alcohol must be marketed as less appealing and less “cool”. Advertisement drives toward healthy living must be prioritized. There should also be more funding on commercials which show the deadly effects of driving under the influence of alcohol so the message can get across.
Although the statistics outweigh the efforts carried out by the whole country. It remains a fact that people die on the road because of driving under the influence of alcohol. Innocent people also die because of the irresponsibility of repeat DUI offenders.
It is apparent that a lot more has to be done to lower mortalities due to driving under the influence of alcohol. The number one goal is to urge America not to drink and drive. Drunk driving kills a lot of people annually. Due to driving under the influence of alcohol, a lot of lives are changed everyday.
