Despite increased public awareness, driving under the influence of alcohol continues to ravage families across the country. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, in 2012, nearly 29 million people admitted to drinking and driving – that’s more than double the population of Pennsylvania.
So why do our citizens continue to operate a vehicle under the influence of alcohol? Any alcoholic would easily answer that question... It's a meer junction of two of their habits: excessive drinking and driving. While under the influence of alcohol, the body's functions slow down tremendously and so don't the reaction times to, say, maybe make a sharp turn or suddenly break for a pedestrian. Others drink and drive because they simply aren't aware of the physical and legal limits on blood alcohol content.
As driving under the influence is more of a psychological issue within the offender, the direct effects of the application of laws aren't as important as one may think. Rather, the collateral effects of the laws are what deter one from repeating such offenses. This is evidenced by the fact that there is no consistent relationship between the strictness of state DUI laws and the number of
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It significantly brought down the re-offense rate in New Mexico, the nation's first state to adopt this policy, and in many other states where it has been implemented. Other measures that could and should be taken and/or expanded are the lowering of the blood alcohol content limits and implementation of sobriety checkpoints along roads. Both of these actions, in conjunction with the proper application of our laws, intimidate not only alcoholics but also social and casual drinkers who, many times, exercise poor judgment and driver