Drinking And Driving Essay -- Alcohol, Drunk Driving, DUI

What possesses a person to get behind the drivers’ seat of a car and drive intoxicated? This question is always asked whenever a drunk driver is involved in a drinking and driving incident. Many people drink and drive without thinking about the consequences. The majority of fatal car crashes are caused by alcohol related incidents. Of all traffic fatalities in the United States in 2005, 39% of traffic related accidents were alcohol related (Alcohol Alert, 2006). Driving while intoxicated puts drivers and others lives at risk. Drinking and driving do not mix and the consequences can be prevented. A simple solution can be by simply having designated drivers to help keep drunk drivers off the road. All 50 states have a designated blood alcohol concentration level. This blood alcohol concentration level is determined when a person is legally drunk. A person is not permitted to operate a vehicle when this limit is reached. The limit for all 50 states for the blood alcohol concentration level is .08. 43 states and the District of Columbia have strict laws that prohibit the driver and the passengers from possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger compartment of a vehicle (DUI and DWI Laws, 2007). Drinking alcohol can have many side effects on a person. Every person’s body will react differently to alcohol absorption. Alcohol begins to be absorbed into a person’s bloodstream within one to two minutes after an alcoholic beverage is consumed. After consuming alcohol it accumulates in the bloodstream. Intoxication usually occurs when an individual drinks alcohol faster than the liver can oxidize it. While the percentage of alcohol in the blood increases, the more a person becomes intoxicated (Hanson, 2007). Remember th... ...or his or her actions, there would be fewer accidents in the world. The next time someone gets behind the wheel of a car he or she should reevaluate their actions and think of the consequences. References Alcohol Alert. (2006). Alcohol alert. Retrieved June 8, 2007, from http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html Drinking and Driving Data. (2007). Nhtsa. Retrieved June 8, 2007, from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/kids/research/drinking/index.cfm DUI and DWI Laws. (2007). Iihs. Retrieved June 8, 2007, from http://www.iihs.org/laws/state_laws/dui.html Hanson J.D., (2007). Alcohol Problems and Solutions. Potsdam. Retrieved June 8, 2007, from http://www2.potsdam.edu./hansondj/DrinkingAndDriving.html Jourard, R. (2007). Drinking and Driving. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from defencelaw Web site: from http://www.defencelaw.com/drinking-driving-1.html