Drunk Driving Law

Progress in reducing  fatalities due to drunk-driving has slowed over the last years and it appears that an attitude shift may be necessary
Authorities at the state and federal levels have strengthened enforcement, passes tougher laws, and sponsored anti–DWI campaigns that have had some success.
Deaths attributed to drunk driving were at record lows  of 37% of all recorded fatalities in 2008.
However drunk driving continues to be a serious problem  that continues to burden our , not only with monetary costs, but preventable human tragedy.

There are exorbitant costs involved in drunk driving fatalities
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) each drunken-driving fatality costs about $3.5 million in monetary losses, or an estimated $45 billion annually.
Injuries associated with DWI cost more than $110 billion annually.

Most drunken driving and alcohol-related accidents are caused by heavy drinkers, alcoholics and repeat offenders. During weekends when most drunk driving occurs, very heavy drinkers, with blood-alcohol concentration
(BAC) 50% above the legal limit, are involved in at least 65% of drunk driving fatalities and up to 35% of all alcohol related fatalities are caused by drivers with prior convictions.
Driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) continually remains one of the most frustrating and apparently insurmontable problems.

With some effort, it may entirely be possible  give up alcohol
Over the past 20 years drunk-driving deaths have actually fallen thank to such activist groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, but the decrease has plateaued and apathy appears to be setting in.
Experts say that tackling the problem of impaired driving will require stronger measures, ranging from sobriety checkpoints to impounding vehicles.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to change is awareness. Most people are no longer focused on the problem of impaired driving and media coverage has been reduced  to being seasonal in recent years.

Another complication is that statues are established by each state, and as a result, no consistent message is being received.
The need for establishing national standards for penalizing drunk drivers is being discussed.
The problem may require a comprehensive look at all aspects for a suitable solution.

One of the most successfull programs created to reduce alcohol related traffic fatalities is New York State STOP-DWI, where stiff fines for impaired driving were actually used to enforce laws and rehabilitate
offenders.

Originally published here.

Many accidents that happen along the United States roadways are caused by drivers who neglect simple safety measures and disobey laws that were put into place for a reason. Driving Drunk is one such occurrence that has numerous laws backing its enforcement. Individuals who drink and drive are not only putting themselves and their passengers into immediate danger, but also endangering anyone else on the road with them. According to the United States Department of Transportation, drunk driving incidents cause fatalities roughly every 31 minutes and injuries every two minutes.

If you think those numbers are a bit too high, take a look at another cold hard fact. In 2005 alone over 254,000 people were injured from car accidents with alcohol involved. Nearly 17,000 more individuals were killed by these same types of accidents.

In today’s legislature, even more laws are being written to help take drunk drivers off of the road with hefty penalties. One of the most recent of these laws was the Administrative License Revocation Law that allowed for license suspension immediately following a refusal to take a breathalyzer test by a suspect drunk driver on the side of the road. In the event of this situation, the individual would be temporarily taken to the police station and given another chance to submit a breathalyzer test to see if he/she is in fact legally under the influence. If the individual does not comply, other means of extracting this information is possible such as urine tests and blood tests.

In a more aggressive fashion, laws have been passed in the state of California that place businesses partially responsible for damages that any of their customers may have part in from purchasing or consuming alcohol beverages at the establishment. Nonetheless, these laws are having a relatively low impact on the majority of offenders. In the past fifteen years, there have been more repeated violators than ever before.

If anything, these laws and legislative actions are helping to spread the word about the extensive consequences that an individual will go through if they are caught drinking and driving. Not only could your license be suspended, but you could serve jail time, serve hundreds of hours of community service, pay thousands of dollars in court fees, and even begin an unwanted criminal history that future employers can look up at any time.

Drivers are being urged not to drink and drive. Statistically it is the leading cause of deaths along the road ways in the United States. Calling a cab, having someone you know pick you up, or sleeping wherever you were drinking are all not only smart decisions, but could prove extremely less costly in the end.

Tom Tessin is an author for FINDgascards.com that is geared toward people looking to save on gas with gas rebate credit cards.

Originally published here.

Many accidents that happen along the United States roadways are caused by drivers who neglect simple safety measures and disobey laws that were put into place for a reason. Driving Drunk is one such occurrence that has numerous laws backing its enforcement. Individuals who drink and drive are not only putting themselves and their passengers into immediate danger, but also endangering anyone else on the road with them. According to the United States Department of Transportation, drunk driving incidents cause fatalities roughly every 31 minutes and injuries every two minutes.

If you think those numbers are a bit too high, take a look at another cold hard fact. In 2005 alone over 254,000 people were injured from car accidents with alcohol involved. Nearly 17,000 more individuals were killed by these same types of accidents.

In today’s legislature, even more laws are being written to help take drunk drivers off of the road with hefty penalties. One of the most recent of these laws was the Administrative License Revocation Law that allowed for license suspension immediately following a refusal to take a breathalyzer test by a suspect drunk driver on the side of the road. In the event of this situation, the individual would be temporarily taken to the police station and given another chance to submit a breathalyzer test to see if he/she is in fact legally under the influence. If the individual does not comply, other means of extracting this information is possible such as urine tests and blood tests.

In a more aggressive fashion, laws have been passed in the state of California that place businesses partially responsible for damages that any of their customers may have part in from purchasing or consuming alcohol beverages at the establishment. Nonetheless, these laws are having a relatively low impact on the majority of offenders. In the past fifteen years, there have been more repeated violators than ever before.

If anything, these laws and legislative actions are helping to spread the word about the extensive consequences that an individual will go through if they are caught drinking and driving. Not only could your license be suspended, but you could serve jail time, serve hundreds of hours of community service, pay thousands of dollars in court fees, and even begin an unwanted criminal history that future employers can look up at any time.

Drivers are being urged not to drink and drive. Statistically it is the leading cause of deaths along the road ways in the United States. Calling a cab, having someone you know pick you up, or sleeping wherever you were drinking are all not only smart decisions, but could prove extremely less costly in the end.

Tom Tessin is an author for FINDgascards.com that is geared toward people looking to save on gas with gas rebate credit cards.

Originally published here.