Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in Florida
Having a car in the family is one of the most important necessities in the household of Americans. Driving is a significant element in the daily lives of Americans, from going to work and school up to running errand, driving plays an important role in accomplishing these daily tasks. It is a well-known fact, that driving serves a number of purposes in the American Society. And at the same time, driving can also be a cause of injuries or even death. There are a number of reasons why a person or persons engage in a vehicular accident, it could be due to negligence, intentional misconduct and product failure. But one of the rising if not relevant cause of vehicular accidents is Driving under the Influence of Alcohol.
Alcohol drinking is a normal activity in which adults both male and female are engaging. There are a number of reasons a person drinks alcohol, it is usually just for fun especially when a group of people is having a party or a celebration, some people use alcohols as a tool in suppressing their depression or problems and for severe case it could lead to alcoholism, in which the body of the person craves for alcohol and the person cannot or has a little control on alcohol cravings. Alcoholism is treated with the help of professionals; they can either see a psychiatrist or admitted to facilities. Alcohol drinking does not seem to be a problem in countries all over the world; however, alcohol drinking has alarming effects especially when driving under the influence. It is one of the most talked about issues in the United States, a number of measures have already been done but still there are still cases of drunk driving in the United States. This paper discusses Driving under the Influence of Alcohol particularly in the state of Florida. This paper talks about the statistics and cases of drunk driving in Florida. It also gives suggestion on the measures that the government of Florida must do to stop and reduce drunk driving in the state.
First and foremost, a definition of Driving under the Influence, According to Gerald Robin (1991) Driving under the Influence (DUI) or Driving while Intoxicated (DWI) is “driving with a specific amount or percentage of alcohol in the blood.” (1) In determining if an individual is under the influence of alcohol the breath, urine and blood is tested. Furthermore, the author discussed that alcohol in the blood of the person with a blood alcohol level of 10 has unfavorable effects on the reaction time, vision, judgment and ability to brake and control speed and drivers having a .10 blood alcohol level are most likely be engaged in a vehicular accident. Robin enumerated the probable indications that a motorist is drunk, the following are: making wide turns, weaving in roadway, straddling ride center line, nearly striking another vehicle, following too closely, driving on the wrong side of the road, speeding or driving slowly, braking erratically, turning abruptly or illegally, stopping inappropriately in the driving lane, drifting from lane to lane, driving on non-designated surfaces, signaling inconsistently, slow response time to traffic lights and having headlights off at night.
According to Jeanne Mejeur (2005) in the reported 42,000 vehicular deaths in the year 2003 about 40 percent were associated with alcohol uses, 22 percent comprised drivers having a blood alcohol level of more than 0.16 which is twice the legal limit of .08, and according to the National Statistics Florida ranks third in the year 2004 among fifty states having 38 percent alcohol-related fatalities in vehicular accidents. According to Alcohol, Florida has a 14.45% of Intoxicated Drivers, and the illegal blood alcohol content is 0.08, with a suspension of the license during the first offense for about 6 months and can only be restored after 30 days.
However, the Mother’s Against Drunk Driving published a report, rating each states and government regarding their measures against drunk driving and Florida was given an A grade on its measures. (Kristen Trugman, 1999)
There are a big figure of fatalities regarding accidents because of drunk driving Darla McFarland (2004) reported that two young people were killed after the car of Heather Hunter crashed in the tree, together with Quinton Bates, apparently Hunter was drunk having a blood alcohol level of 0.25.
Another fatality due to drunk driving is written in Mejeur’s article, in the case of Kris Mansfield, four months after coming and surviving from Iraq he was killed by a drunk driver with a blood alcohol content of 0.217.
Moreover, Mejeur wrote about the death of seven-year old Katie Flynn and their limousine driver after their limo crashed against the car of the drunk driver with a blood alcohol content of 0.28.
Those are just some of the stories of fatalities due to drunk driving. In order to stop and reduce the incidents of drunk-driving the following measures are being undertaken or must be undertaken by the Florida Government, as well as, the states all over the United States of America.
Mejeur identified different measures states in the US do to prevent and stop drunk driving in which can also be implemented in Florida.
Get a Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) Test. Identifying the BAC level of a driver is difficult in most of the states because drivers refuse to, so that they would not be prosecuted, but 15 states changed the penalty of BAC test refusal in to criminal penalties making it harder to refuse, Florida can emulate the 15 states and change also the penalties.
Require Ignition Interlocks. Drunk drivers are usually repeat offenders, some states demands for offenders to have an ignition interlock in their cars. This device is like breathalyzers in which the driver blows the ignition interlock prior to starting the vehicle; the vehicle will not start if the ignition interlock detected alcohol. New Mexico was the first state to mandate ignition interlocks for all drunk drivers that were convicted. Florida can also follow New Mexico and mandate the installation of ignition interlocks in the cars of the offenders and even for non-offenders, this will help in reducing and even stopping accidents related to drunk-driving in Florida.
Treat Substance Abuse. Alcoholics are most likely to be involved in drunk-driving incidents. All of the states in the US require drunk-driving offenders to be present in programs about alcohol and drug abuse. However, education is not helpful especially if the alcohol abuse is so profound. The Florida Government must require the identified alcoholics to undergo treatments in order to help them overcome their alcohol addiction at the same time reducing drunk-driving incidents in the state.
John Pattee (2004) reported an innovative approach the Government of Alaska has undertaken in order to reduce drunk driving in that particular state. The government passed a legislation stating that taxi companies are permitted to transport both the intoxicated individual and his or her car back at home. This program was named “Off the road” and is funded by government grants, corporate sponsors, bars and restaurants. The Government of Florida can also emulate this creative approach since Florida has a lot of bars and hotels that serve alcoholic drinks to its patrons and the tourists, having taxi companies deliver both the intoxicated person and the car allows an individual to party and get drunk knowing that someone will sent them home or to the hotel and their car safely. It also diminishes the incidents of drunk-driving because a number of drunk-driving offenders engage in drunk driving because they do not want to leave their cars.
Another measure that the Government of Florida can do in order to reduce or even stop drunk-driving in the state is educating the youth about responsible driving. In the study of Sheila Sarkar and Marie Andreas (2004), the sample study of the youth rated drunk driving as the most risky and dangerous behavior of driving followed by sleepy driving, speedy driving and slow driving. The authors suggested that there must be more aggressive programs for teenagers regarding safe driving and assessment of the risks, together with the involvement of parents in a take-home plan would be a big help in increasing the safety and awareness of the new and future drivers.
According to the Century Council, there are three approaches in reducing the problem regarding drunk-driving:
Swift Identification. In this process, the offenders must be identified as first-time offender or hard core offender. After determining, actions must be made especially for hard core offenders, such as prevention from driving and treatment regarding their use of alcohol. And for the first time offenders, education is the best tool so that they would not commit the same mistakes again.
Certain Punishment. Punishment must be given these offenders; however there are punishments that do not prevent drunk driving such as getting their license and not allowing driving for a period of time. For some it would be effective but for hard core offenders it would not be.
Effective Treatment. Prevention is better than cure, the teenagers must be taught by their parents and school about responsible driving. By preventing new and future drivers to commit drunk-driving it would reduce and stop drunk-driving. But for those who are convicted efficient treatment must be given to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Drunk Driving is a very serious issue that everyone must talk about and take part. Prevention of drunk driving is not only the responsibility of the state government but the responsibility of each and every individual. Parents must teach their kids responsible driving, the persons drinking alcohol must be responsible enough to limit themselves on the intake and the government must also create approaches that would ensure its constituents that their roads are safe from drunk-drivers.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment