Why Do Drugs And Alcohol-Impaired Driving Essay

Alcohol-impaired driving causes 32 fatalities a day in the US (“Impaired Driving: Get the Facts”). Driving safely requires focus, quick decision making, and good judgment. However, drugs and alcohol impair those skills necessary for safe driving. Less is known about the effects of drug-impaired driving, which makes it even more dangerous. Despite having different effects, they both tend to result in the same way. Throughout the years many different laws have been put in place in an attempt to keep drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol off the road. These laws made changes for the better, but they did not solve the problem as a whole. Impaired driving is one of the main factors in road incidents, despite the laws and consequences

About 30% of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (“Driving After Drinking”). Alcohol is a depressant drug, which slows the activity of our central nervous system. Due to that, our body is unable to judge distance, speed, and the movement of other vehicles properly. It may also cause drowsiness, which could lead to people falling asleep behind the wheel (“How alcohol impacts your ability to drive”). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 18.5 million people over the age of 16 drove while intoxicated in the US in 2020. When drunk drivers are behind the wheel they are not only endangering themselves but everyone else around them. In 2020, 38% of deaths in the US were passengers of the alcohol-impaired drivers or the drivers and passengers of another vehicle. This statistic is an example of why drunk driving accidents are so tragic, because it can happen at any time without you doing anything wrong. The highest percentage of drunk drivers were between the ages of 21 and 24. Following crashes law enforcement typically tests the surviving drivers for impairment. The way to measure the amount of alcohol in a person's system is called the Blood Alcohol

Zero tolerance laws make it illegal for people under the age of 21 to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their systems. It has been in effect in all states since 1998. According to the US Department of Transportation the crash rates in Maryland dropped by 21% when the zero tolerance law enforcement came into effect. One reason it was so impactful was because of the consequences that came to those who did not follow the law. In the majority of states, 16 and 17 year olds are treated like adults in cases. If underage drivers have a blood alcohol level over 0.08% they can be charged with a DWI. For first offenses you can end up with jail time, fines, and the loss of license for 30 days. According to the Minnesota Department of Health and Safety, costs can be as high as $20,000 when factoring court costs, legal fees and increased insurance premiums. The offenses continually become more severe if drivers get numerous DWI’s. There are other ways besides laws that reduce the drunk driving numbers. One of those being driving monitor systems that monitor vehicle movements with lane departure warnings and collision assist. Cameras and other sensors can also monitor the driver's head and eyes. Many other vehicle technologies have been successful. The 2021 impaired driving campaign created by the National Enforcement Mobilization was called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”. The campaign