Drinking and Driving and The Dangers it May Pose

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motorvehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.” (October, 2014) Driving under the influence of intoxicants, or DUII, has been a difficult problem to overcome in the United States. DUII is categorized as driving under the influence of intoxicants that impair the brain’s ability to make rational and timely decisions. Examples of intoxicants are alcohol and illegal drugs. These intoxicants inhibit brain function and decision making skills. Due to the increasing number of cases involving DUII car accidents, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has put in place campaigns to educate drivers of all ages on the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers this area a “winnable battle”, and according to the Transport Accident Commission there has been a sizable decrease in DUII related accidents since the late 1980’s (see table 1) (n.d.).

(Table 1)

Driving with a high alcohol concentration produces a major increase in car accidents, many of which are fatal. It is estimated that thirty-two percent of car crashes are related to intoxicated-driving incidents. Alcohol impacts one's ability to make quick decisions, execute maneuvers, and can cause loss of judgment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thirty people die daily in motor vehicle crashes thatinvolve drunk drivers (October, 2014). There is a need to reevaluate society's attitude toward drunk driving. Intoxication should not be used as an excuse for improper behavior or as means to avoid appropriate punishment.

Alcoholic impairment influences the risk of crashes, and also produce short and long term outcomes consequences for the driver. Short term consequences are: having your license revoked, going to jail, or paying a hefty fine. However, the long term consequences from a serious crash are much more drastic: people can get severe injuries such as paralyzation, disfigurement, and loss of the ability to live a normal life. An encounter with a drunk driver can be just as difficult emotionally as it is financially and physically, if not more so. Deaths that occur suddenly, where family members and friends are not prepared, can be very difficult to deal with. Perhaps the most frustrating piece people struggle with is that drunk driving can easily be prevented. The loss of a loved one due to someone else's negligence causes strong emotions, especially anger. The most affected in fatal crashes are young people, who tend to make poor decisions with their safety. Many people have their lives shattered and ruined because of a drunk driver. That is why driving under the influence is socially unacceptable. People need to realize how dangerous impaired driving is. With the help of new laws and continued hard work, the number of drinking and driving accidents will decrease in the future.

(http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/prints/abramet-drinking-and-driving-14011805/)

As you drink alcohol, alcohol passes into your bloodstream, which interferes with the neurotransmitters that control the brain’s activities. The vital functions your body must perform become increasingly impaired as more alcohol enters the bloodstream. Alcohol can give warning signs to the brain at each level of toxicity. Spotting these signs can help you moderate your drinking, or stop it altogether. Several signs your alcohol consumption is too high: feeling unsteady, losing thoughts mid-sentence, or seeing double. Young drivers are seventeen times more likely to die in acrash from alcohol consumption (Young Drivers & Alcohol, n.d.). This is why it is important to share information when a beloved family or friend had been killed by an intoxicated driver. While it is likely that the driver may be held criminally responsible, you may be entitled to restitution for the pain and the harm that was preventable.

Seeing how destructive drinking and driving is, many may wonder what is going through someone's head when making this decision. There are many social aspects that may lead one to drink and drive. This problem can stem from parents not being involved with educating their kids about drinking and driving. Kids look up to their parents and learn many things from them. Parents are necessary in the aid of revealing the truth about what alcohol can do to you. With many kids seeing countless ads related to alcohol, it is hard to shelter the youth from it. Media plays a big role in how our youth perceives alcohol. With the young used to alcohol being public, they are more likely to not see the dangers of drinking and driving. It is crucial parents take part in preventing kids and others from drinking and getting behind the wheel. Although most alcohol related accidents occur around the ages of twenty-five to thirty-four, there is a high social pressure to drink. When people are in environments such as bars or parties, they are more likely to drink and drive. In a study thirty-three percent of people said there was social environment factors that led them to carelessly drive while intoxicated (Young Drivers & Alcohol, n.d.). This percentage is huge and leads right into the social determinant of friends or people in a social setting encouraging binge drinking, which often leads to bad decisions. Often times, encouragement to over drink is subtle and not aimed to harm.  Many times the willingness of letting friends drive drunk is due to the lack of designated driver or a way home. The people who are around while drinking are huge factors in if someone will drive drunk or find a safe way home. While friends are a determinant of if someone will drive drunk, they easily can influence prevention of people not partaking in intoxicated driving.

Drinking and driving is a very serious problem in our country, but there are so many people and organizations taking positive steps forward to overcoming this challenge in America. One of the simplest interventions we have is the order in which a person achieves their license. First you get a permit which means you have to drive with a parent for six months before you can get a license. Then, after you earn your license you have to wait six months until you can drive other people. These rules are to encourage drivers to be skilled and knowledgeable, and not rush into learning how to drive, especially with everything else they have going on in their life, being a teenager. Adolescence is an overwhelming time, driving and drinking are both new concepts that are being introduced, and this combination can be deadly. Many impressive intervention programs have been created.  A peer-to-peer program called Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) was created in 1981. Peer led conferences, workshops and more, let students inform other students on drunk driving (History of SADD, n.d.). This group is so impactful, because, sometimes youth does not like to listen to authority or their parents, but they are more likely to listen to a friend or someone their age. Another creative way the government has intervened is with an "IgnitionInterlock". When a person has gotten multiple DUI’s, this is installed in their car. It works as a breathalyzer on the dashboard and the car engine will not start if you are over or at the blood alcohol content (Ignition Interlock, 2014). Education on this subject is also an extremely important tool. Understanding the danger of alcohol can save you from getting in a car intoxicated, or letting your friend, which can in turn save lives.

(http://www.artofdrink.com/blog/historical-drinking-driving-ads/)

All of these programs and interventions have been working positively to improve drunk driving statistics. Looking at past and present drunk driving records, we can actually see that driving and drinking fatalities have gone down. In the last fifteen years drunk driving related accidents have gone down by forty-seven percent (Voas and Deyoung, 2014). That number is incredible and very hopeful to the health and safety of our society on the roads. Reading statistics like these show us that this is definitely a winnable battle. Realistically, there will never be a point in time when there are no drunk driving accidents, but with these interventions continuing on and becoming more prevalent in our society, we will see the numbers go down and get closer to overcoming this important battle. There are no enemies in this battle in terms of people against the interventions being successful. It would be very hard to find people who fight against keeping our roads safe and people alive. This is a winnable battle because people care. People are motivated and moved to make things better. We do not need to accept the disheartening topic but instead, realize that this is something we can prevent. In fact prevention, awareness, and hard work to change this problem is exactly what we need to win this battle.

   (http://www.sunyit.edu/onesecond/alcoholanddriving/)

Written by: Britt Jones, Silvia Gilbert, Hunter Pulley, Macey Hoffman, and Matthew Henn

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, October 7). Impaired Driving: Get the Facts.

Retrieved November 20, 2014, from

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

Drunk Driving Statistics - Drinking and Driving Facts - Drug-Free World. (n.d.). Retrieved

November 20, 2014, from

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/drinking-and-driving.html

History of SADD. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://sadd.org/history.htm

IGNITION INTERLOCK. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2014, from DUI DWI Foundation website:

            http://www.duifoundation.org/support/prevention/ignitioninterlock/

Voas, R., & Deyoung, D. (2002, May). Vehicle action: Effective policy for controlling drunk and

other high-risk drivers? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 34(3), 263-270

Young Drivers & Alcohol. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2014,

from http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/YoungDriversAndAlcohol.html#.VHVxzPTF_ol