The Problem of Drunk Driving in America and the Need for Stricter Penalties

More residents living in America have been killed in alcohol related car crashes than in all of the United States wars since the time it was formed. According to researchers, drunk driving costs the United States $132 billion per year. Drunk driving is responsible for several deaths across the country, therefore, there needs to be stricter penalties for those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

All states define driving with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent as a crime. As a part of the law, it has been allowed to confiscate the license of who was drunk. Most drivers who had drunk before they drove have been involved in fatal car crashes. Even though there have been only reported a few cases of drunk driving with a BAC of a much higher percentage of those drivers have been involved in horrific crashes. The average BAC among fatally injured drivers is. There have been far too many deaths because of drunk driving. There has been a very helpful technique to help prevent drunk driving. All 50 states have some kind of interlock legislations.

They also require for drunk drivers to install interlocks inside of their vehicle. An interlock determines a driver's breath and disables the engine if alcohol is detected. Even though the number of deaths and injuries that are alcohol related has dropped dramatically in the past couple of years, there are still far too many unfortunate incidents that still occur when driving under the influence of alcohol. Although there have been laws, punishments, and people have been and still are being educated about drunk driving, there is not a complete solution to solve the problem of drunk driving. Drunk driving can be preventable, but not stopped.

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People need to be educated about it, not face even more severe penalties. "Having road blocks around every corner would not be beneficial to anyone and sending first time offenders to prison where they would be housed with violent criminals is not reasonable either. The only real answer is increased education and awareness." (Debate.org). People that have received multiple DUI's should not face severe penalties, if they have not caused any damage.

Instead of facing a harsher punishment, especially if it is a first time offender, they should be required to take classes to help there educate how to be a more responsible driver. Offenders should be given a chance to rectify themselves by becoming aware and realizing how dangerous drunk driving can be. "The penalties for a DUI first offense can be life altering. First time offenders may be sentenced to probation, expensive fines, alcohol education classes, and even jail time." (duifirstoffense.net). First time offenders do face strict penalties. Even if they were driving carefully, they still have to pay a big price, and put a lot of effort in to be able to drive again. They not only lose their license, but also have to take out time to go to classes and learn about alcohol education.

They also have to pay a fine based on how intoxicated they were. Drunken driving penalties are as strict as they could be for a first time offender. They should not be any harsher than they already are. It is not preventable. "Nothing can be done to prevent it. Laws can be made much stronger, and that might work to prevent someone from getting drunk and deciding to drive. But, then again, when people drink, their mind is impaired, and their thinking and rationalizing abilities are not 100%." (harsh-penalties.org)

Drunk driving is not preventable. And giving people harsher punishments won't make much of a difference because it only is a waste of money for them. It doesn't guarantee if they would drink and drive again or not. Drunk driving is something that no matter how harsh of a punishment someone is given, it will still remain uncontrollable. "The current level of punishment is working as the state of Illinois has increased the number of convictions for driving intoxicated, while the numbers of fatalities that involve drunk driving have gone down."(yahoo.com). According to yahoo, the penalties for the state of Illinois are strict enough because the number of fatalities has decreased. As of right now, the punishments for the state of Illinois are effective. It has reduced the number of fatalities, therefore it is strict enough.

Driving under the influence of alcohol occurs across America, so the penalties should be equally strict for each person in each state. "The DUI laws have gotten better in some states but it is still not good enough." (totaldui.com). In some states, such as Illinois and Georgia, drunk driving penalties are as strict. In other states they are not strict at all. There are deaths occurring across the nation because of drunk driving. Because it is a nationwide problem, the penalties should be strict in every state for each person who is driving under the influence of alcohol. "Every 53 minutes of average, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash (9,878 people total in 2011).

Every 90 seconds someone is injured because of this entirely preventable crime." (MADD.org). This statistic proves that the laws in America are not strict enough. There is being a crime committed in less than an hour, and someone is being injured in less than a minute. This obviously tells that the penalties should be stricter, and that the DUI laws in the states are not good enough. All the states need a better and stricter way to help drunk driving offenders so that the numbers in this statistic can go down.

Drunk Driving penalties must be as strict as they can to reduce the number of crimes due to it because drunk driving is the number one cause of car crashes. "Alcohol should be more taxed to pay for these programs, as well over 10,000 people are killed every year by drunk drivers and many more are injured." (More Dramatic Steps Should Be Taken To Stop Drunk Driving). As this statistic states, 10,000 people are killed on a yearly basis. That's more than enough people.

If there are that many crimes being committed, than there should also be heavier prices to pay for the alcohol because that may help the number of drunk driving crashes decrease. Because of how many deaths there are, it also means a huge amount of money is being wasted and to help that alcohol should be taxed.“Many states are responding with felony charges and extended jail time for offenders. This can affect how you save money on car insurance and can lead to the revoking or suspension of your license." (duiconsequences.com).

Across the USA, stricter penalties are already being applied. Stricter charges mean taking away the license for an even long duration of time, which is what would help decrease the number of crimes. As the years go by, laws for drunk driving are getting stricter, but still should be harsher. In order for people to realize their mistakes, they should be given harsh punishments such a stricter felony charges. Stricter penalties affect everyone. "Steps against drunk driving may help some think twice before getting behind the wheel, while inebriated. Furthermore, even if it doesn't drastically curb drunk driving, it could at least help bring a sense of justice for those whose lives are impacted by driving." (Almamori).

Stricter penalties can help the number of crimes come down. It not only helps decrease it, but also helps make a safer society for other people. Stricter drunk driving laws would not only help the people who are being convicted, but also the people that are close to them. "You are not immune from drunk drivers' criminal deadly choice. You are not safe, your family is not safe. Urge our legislators to enact much more harsh penalties to those who drink and drive." (postbulletin.com).

A drunk driver not only affects himself but also the people and environment around him. That person does not think twice before making the decision of driving before the alcohol, so he should be gives a more severe penalty to think twice before he tries to do it. Being given stricter penalties can not only make the offender be safer, but also the people around him safer too. The people also realize not to make the mistake of driving under the influence of alcohol. Because once they see the penalty a person has to face they should know better not to do it. If there were stricter penalties for people who drink and drive, the number of fatalities would decrease, and people would have a better chance of not making the mistake of drinking and driving again.

In conclusion, stricter penalties would also help the society. Not so much money would be wasted, not as much people would lose people who were close to them, and everyone would be better alarmed if there were harsher laws. Across the nation, many deaths are being occurred because of drunk driving; therefore the solution to this would be stricter penalties for those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

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