My roommate and I were watching an episode of Mad Men on Netflix last night and in the episode, the lead character Don Draper (played by John Hamm) is involved in a drunken driving incident - my roommate quickly asked me what I thought were the penalties/ fines if caught for DUI - I quickly responded with possibly a bail and some nights in jail. Having said that to myself I thought of researching on the subject and share with you all what I found in this blog.
Everyday, many people drink and drive without seeing the harm that it can cause - but the question remains - does making it home safely or "getting away with it" make drunken driving a good decision? Of course not! Choosing to drive yourself home when you are impaired by alcohol is putting not only your life at risk but also those of anyone else on the road while you are driving and of course, the occupants of your car as well. While 0.08% alcohol in your blood stream is the legal limit to drive in the US, lower BAC levels can also impact your driving ability - there's a reason why the DMV always sends an addendum form with the BAC chart in every document that they send you - meaning, the best way to play it totally safe is to not drive if you've had anything to drink at all. Regardless of how well you can handle your alcohol, the fact is that if you drive with alcohol in your system, you are at a heightened risk of causing an accident, injury or even death. Alcohol has a substantial effect on a person's judgement, coordination, reaction time, concentration, and vision, each of which you might imagine is pretty important when driving.
Although fatalities have been on the decline in recent years, alcohol-related crashes kill about 10,000 people per year in the US - with alcohol a factor in one out of three motor vehicle deaths. Despite all the warnings, public awareness and educational programs and stiffer penalties for violations, people still have that notion that they can get a kick/ experience thrill when intoxicated. So, what fate awaits those involved in a DUI? You may be surprised to find that penalties for DUI, even the first offense, have been increased due to the efforts of groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD). All states have now adopted 21 as the legal drinking age and two-thirds of the states in the US have passed the Administrative License Revocation law (ALR), which allows the arresting officer to confiscate the license of drivers who fail or refuse to take a breath test. All states have lowered the legal BAC limit from 0.10 to 0.08% for adults and have also passed the Zero Tolerance law which prohibits drivers under 21 from having any measurable amount of alcohol in their blood system. There are increased penalties for repeat offenders and many state legislatures have passed laws requiring mandatory jail time (initially a weekend, but can extend up to 6 months) for repeat DUI convictions. The fines have gotten larger, the length of license suspension has gotten longer and getting a "hardship" license just to go back and forth to work is getting difficult. A push is on for ignition interlock laws for all convicted drunk drivers and legislation has passed in several states. Although laws differ from state to state, the consequences of being charged with a DUI have increased - getting an attorney in hopes of getting a reduced sentence is a waste of time and money - the penalties that the judge must impose are mandated by state law - so stop getting ideas from false advertisers on the radio claiming that they can help get your sentence reduced. Many states have passed Habitual Violator laws which provide felony penalties for three DUI convictions - these offenders lose many of their civil rights like voting, owning a weapon, as well as their DL permanently for many years.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/police-officer-taking-sobriety-test-of-man-sb10069770i-003-5a70b004312834003647dbf3.jpg)
So what can you do to reduce the risk of drunk driving? Never plan on your ability to make wise decisions when intoxicated - that's why it is best to plan ahead to remove any chance of driving with a BAC. The safest option is to find your designated driver - he/ she should promise you that they'll not drink before you go out - never assume that someone will volunteer and make sure that you don't put all the responsibility on the same person every time - if you feel guilty, offer to buy them dinner or pay for gas :p Hold each other accountable - when you go out with friends, coworkers or family, encourage each other to drink water in between alcoholic beverages - take their keys and mobile phones (yes, mobile phones!) away from them! Call a cab or offer to give them a ride to pick their car up in the morning. Be a responsible host while hosting your own gathering - offer non-alcoholic beverages and make sure everyone has a safe ride home. Monitor your own drinking to ensure that you help guests make safe choices; by being responsible, you can model that you don't drink excessively to have a good time! And by the way, you don't really need alcohol to make the evening a memorable one - you save money, you feel energized the next day and you'll be sure to make it home a lot more safely.
All in all, the dangers of drunk driving far outweigh the chances of you getting home safely! Safely driving a car is difficult even when you are sober (believe me, it's not easy coz you need to guess how the others would drive too!) and adding alcohol into the mix is putting your life and the lives of others at risk! Make sure you make the right choice and don't attempt to drive drunk! And also, Drink responsibly (Heineken and Johnnie Walker, just putting it out there, please consider me as your next brand ambassador :p)
Everyday, many people drink and drive without seeing the harm that it can cause - but the question remains - does making it home safely or "getting away with it" make drunken driving a good decision? Of course not! Choosing to drive yourself home when you are impaired by alcohol is putting not only your life at risk but also those of anyone else on the road while you are driving and of course, the occupants of your car as well. While 0.08% alcohol in your blood stream is the legal limit to drive in the US, lower BAC levels can also impact your driving ability - there's a reason why the DMV always sends an addendum form with the BAC chart in every document that they send you - meaning, the best way to play it totally safe is to not drive if you've had anything to drink at all. Regardless of how well you can handle your alcohol, the fact is that if you drive with alcohol in your system, you are at a heightened risk of causing an accident, injury or even death. Alcohol has a substantial effect on a person's judgement, coordination, reaction time, concentration, and vision, each of which you might imagine is pretty important when driving.
Although fatalities have been on the decline in recent years, alcohol-related crashes kill about 10,000 people per year in the US - with alcohol a factor in one out of three motor vehicle deaths. Despite all the warnings, public awareness and educational programs and stiffer penalties for violations, people still have that notion that they can get a kick/ experience thrill when intoxicated. So, what fate awaits those involved in a DUI? You may be surprised to find that penalties for DUI, even the first offense, have been increased due to the efforts of groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD). All states have now adopted 21 as the legal drinking age and two-thirds of the states in the US have passed the Administrative License Revocation law (ALR), which allows the arresting officer to confiscate the license of drivers who fail or refuse to take a breath test. All states have lowered the legal BAC limit from 0.10 to 0.08% for adults and have also passed the Zero Tolerance law which prohibits drivers under 21 from having any measurable amount of alcohol in their blood system. There are increased penalties for repeat offenders and many state legislatures have passed laws requiring mandatory jail time (initially a weekend, but can extend up to 6 months) for repeat DUI convictions. The fines have gotten larger, the length of license suspension has gotten longer and getting a "hardship" license just to go back and forth to work is getting difficult. A push is on for ignition interlock laws for all convicted drunk drivers and legislation has passed in several states. Although laws differ from state to state, the consequences of being charged with a DUI have increased - getting an attorney in hopes of getting a reduced sentence is a waste of time and money - the penalties that the judge must impose are mandated by state law - so stop getting ideas from false advertisers on the radio claiming that they can help get your sentence reduced. Many states have passed Habitual Violator laws which provide felony penalties for three DUI convictions - these offenders lose many of their civil rights like voting, owning a weapon, as well as their DL permanently for many years.
So what can you do to reduce the risk of drunk driving? Never plan on your ability to make wise decisions when intoxicated - that's why it is best to plan ahead to remove any chance of driving with a BAC. The safest option is to find your designated driver - he/ she should promise you that they'll not drink before you go out - never assume that someone will volunteer and make sure that you don't put all the responsibility on the same person every time - if you feel guilty, offer to buy them dinner or pay for gas :p Hold each other accountable - when you go out with friends, coworkers or family, encourage each other to drink water in between alcoholic beverages - take their keys and mobile phones (yes, mobile phones!) away from them! Call a cab or offer to give them a ride to pick their car up in the morning. Be a responsible host while hosting your own gathering - offer non-alcoholic beverages and make sure everyone has a safe ride home. Monitor your own drinking to ensure that you help guests make safe choices; by being responsible, you can model that you don't drink excessively to have a good time! And by the way, you don't really need alcohol to make the evening a memorable one - you save money, you feel energized the next day and you'll be sure to make it home a lot more safely.
All in all, the dangers of drunk driving far outweigh the chances of you getting home safely! Safely driving a car is difficult even when you are sober (believe me, it's not easy coz you need to guess how the others would drive too!) and adding alcohol into the mix is putting your life and the lives of others at risk! Make sure you make the right choice and don't attempt to drive drunk! And also, Drink responsibly (Heineken and Johnnie Walker, just putting it out there, please consider me as your next brand ambassador :p)
Comments
Post a Comment