Safe Driving

Michael
Huerta

3/23/20

Safe
Driving

Safe
driving is something everybody wants, but unfortunately we don’t.
Drinking and Driving is a major problem, and has been one for a long
time and is responsible for a lot of deaths. Every single injury and
death caused by drunk driving is preventable. Even though the
proportion of alcohol-impaired driving crashes has dropped greatly
over time, doesn’t mean it’s no longer a problem that we have to fix.
It tragically affects many victims and their families annually.

Most
drivers who have had something to drink have a low BAC.
BAC stands for blood alcohol content, or blood alcohol concentration.
This means the concentration of alcohol in one’s blood.
Yet few have fatal crashes. Only a few drivers have BACs higher than
0.15. However, the risk of death from drinking and driving escalates
with BAC. And it does so greatly. Over two-thirds of alcohol-related
traffic deaths involve a driver with a BAC over 0.15.1

One
question constantly asked is, if the driver knew they were drinking
and shouldn’t drive. Why do they still do it? Studies have shown that
the main reason they still drive is because Social-Environment. For
example, Social and Environmental Influences were the largest
category leading to alcohol impaired driving. These influences
accounted for one third of all the decisions, and came from friends
and the situations they helped to create. Another thing The
study found was that the willingness to allow impaired friends to
drive often arises from the need for a ride in the absence of an
available designated driver. This can happen because the driver did
not foresee the need for a designated driver in advance, there was no
sober passenger present, or the other drinking passengers were
unwilling to drive, even though less impaired.

Possible
prevention measures include these, among many others.

DWI
courts, which are a form of court that exists in some United States
legal jurisdictions, that use substance-abuse interventions and
treatment with defendants who plead guilty of driving while
intoxicated or impaired. Alos License suspension or revocation.
License plate confiscation. As well as having their vehicle
impounded. This one which to me seems most effective requires
ignition interlock devices. This prevents persons with alcohol on
their breath from starting a vehicle. More things that could help
prevent this are better roads or even better and improved cars.

Drinking
and driving has been a problem for a long time and still will
continue to be for a long time. It’s the main reason why safe driving
is an issue. Yes, it has gone down over time, but it’s still a
serious problem and has many ways to help solve these problems.