Alcohol and Driving Under the Influence

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Drunk driving has been a problem in the United States since the introduction of automobiles; however, it did not become an important social issue until the 1980's Drunk driving is illegal in every state. It is not only illegal, but it's also unsafe to operate a vehicle if you are under the influence of alcohol. When a person drinks, the alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream and several tests have been designed to measure the level of alcohol in a person's blood. Driving under the influence of alcohol is considered the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. Automobile accidents involving minors are leading cause of death among young people ages fifteen to twenty-five years of age, and new laws have been placed on minors who use alcohol. The zero tolerance law enforces a blood alcohol level of .01%, which equals one beer, one glass of wine that is all it will take to put a minor over the legal limit. Alcohol is legal for adults to drink, but it is a depressant drug that can be just as dangerous as drugs. It distorts the visual perception of drivers and conflicts with their attention span. Drinking and driving is also seen as a health issue and policies have been devised to save lives and reduce injuries. (MADD) Mothers Against Drunk Driving and (RID) Remove Intoxicated Drivers are the most influential grassroots groups; they lobby and provide needed help wherever they can. Despite years of sanction, drunk driving continues to be a serious social problem. A sizable number of automobile accidents causing injury or death are alcohol related. It seems almost ridiculous that we have had to go this far to try and put an end to drinking and driving. Many people do not realize how big of a problem drunk driving really is. It would be very tough to put a stop to drinking and driving completely, but by taking more action than ever before, maybe we can help to decrease the number of deaths and accidents. How much longer will we be forced to endure the pain and atrocities due to the carelessness of drunk driving? Many innocent lives are lost every year due to irresponsible drinking and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. The laws simply aren't strict enough for teens to take this as seriously as they should. Understandably teens have been drinking and driving for a very long time but the death rate due to the negligence of driving drunk is at an all time high. Families are losing their children and it's a sad fact, but what are we going to do about it.