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Day after day our television screens are flooded with images of horrible car accidents. Newspapers are filled with pictures of cars wrapped around trees, crashed into ditches,and smashed into one another. Along with these images of these cars, society is also forced to see the images of the casualties these bad choices create. No doubt. car accidents are an everyday occurence. However, the impact on society seems to be much greater when combined with the words "drunk driver." There are 40 million problem drinkers in the United States alone(Shute). Driving while intoxicated is the cause of thousands of acidents a year that could easily be avoided. Many of these accidents result in unwanted deaths. Alcohol is involved in 41 percent of the traffic accidentr casualties in the U.S.(Shute). This is a problem not to be taken lightly. Many efforts taken, however, quickly come and go with nothing to show for them; so what can be done?
If you ever had an oppurtunity to speak with a member of the group MADD(Mothers Against Drunk Driving), I am sure it would be a conversation you would not soon forget.Throughout my high school years,the students had several interactions with some members from MADD. One individual had the courage to stand and tell her story of her daughter and a drunk driver. Her daughter was seventeen and going out for the night with her friends. Later that night, as the girl was driving towards her home, a drunk driver, about her age, was driving almost one hundred miles an hour, plowing into her from behind. The girl was not wearing her seat belt and the impact from the car threw her body fifty feet from the vehicle and onto the pavement. The man who was driving drunk had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit and somehow, he survived the accident.This girls family moved far from their home and her twin brother no longer celebrates his birthday.
Many efforts have been taken by lawmakers and they come and go; so what else can be done to keep these intoxicated people from getting behind the wheel of a car? Manty proposals have not yet been made to keep people from driving if they have been drinking.
One of the main contributors to drinking and driving is the club scene and bars. Seeral people go to these places knowing they are going to drink, with only a small percentage planning for way home at the end of the night. Maybe if they did their part we could avoid many accidents. It could be manditory for the bars to have breath tests at the door, measuring the persons blood alcohol level. If the person did not pass the test, several things would come into play (1) The person must find a ride with someone who is sober or ride a cab. (2) The person's car would be towed to their house at the owners expense. (3) If the person does not cooperate with these procedures, he/she will go to jail. Many might be skeptical that these solutions would work, but it would be fairly easy for police to mnitor this. By making random checks at bars, the police could ensure the bars are doing this or else they would be fined. This sort of testing could help avoid hundreds of accidents a year.
Other large communitie infamous for their drunk driving accidents are colleges and universities. Many young adults go out in search of a good time, and 85% of students on today's campuses drink on a regular basis(Temple). Fake IDs are made for an average of $20, but 60% of underage college drinkers say they have no need for them because they do not get "carded". One proposal that would help diminish accidents in the college towns would be to offer a shuttle service. This alternitive could be anything from a bus to taxi cabs. Several universities, such as the University of Missouri-Columbia, already have this program in operation. When attending this university for the past two semesters, I observed that this service was widely used. Many universities have not yet adopted this service, but should do so to avoid many future campus accidents.
Another effective measure towards drinking and driving is having more sobriety checkpoints. In the years I have been driving, I have been stopped at ONE checkpoint. If a driver knows he has a greater chance of getting caught, he might be less likely to take the chance.
People today have become so busy and wrapped up in their own lives that they do not realize the effects their choices have on others. Drinking and driving is a very important issue with serious consequences and something more needs to be done to avoid it. each person can play a role in the fight against drunk driving. For each person who takes the keys from a friend, there is one less accident a family will have to endure. And who knows...that person might save a life in the process.