Driving Under the Influence- Alejandro Castro

 Driving Under The Influence

Civic engagement involves working together or alone to make difference in the civic life of one's community and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make a difference. Therefore, to consume alcohol and getting behind the wheel is a serious crime because when someone is drunk this causes loss of balance and zero muscle control. Drunk driving can lead to a harmful situation and we need stop drunk drivers to get in the road because the person behind the wheel and other people that is near the drunk driver can be harmed. According to Alcohol Rehab Guide, "in the United States, roughly 28 people die every day in motor vehicle crashes that involve and alcohol- impaired driver.

Driving Under The Influence VS The United States

Risk Factors:

• Driving after drinking is deadly. Yet it still continues to happen across the United States. If you drive while impaired, you could get arrested, or worse — be involved in a traffic crash that causes serious injury or death.
• Approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher). In 2018, there were 10,511 people killed in these preventable crashes. In fact, on average over the 10-year period from 2009-2018, more than 10,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes.
• In every state, it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, yet one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 50 minutes in the United States in 2018.
• Men are more likely than women to be driving drunk in fatal crashes. In 2018, 21% of men were drunk in these crashes, compared to 14% for women.

Age:

Driving after drinking is deadly. Yet it still continues to happen across the United States. If you drive while impaired, you could get arrested, or worse — be involved in a traffic crash that causes serious injury or death.

Approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher). In 2018, there were 10,511 people killed in these preventable crashes. In fact, on average over the 10-year period from 2009-2018, more than 10,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes.

In every state, it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, yet one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 50 minutes in the United States in 2018.

Men are more likely than women to be driving drunk in fatal crashes. In 2018, 21% of men were drunk in these crashes, compared to 14% for women.

Responsible Behavior:

1. Plan your safe ride home before you start the party, choose a non-drinking friend as a designated driver.
2. If someone you know has been drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. Take their keys and help them arrange a sober ride home. 
3. If you drink, do not drive for any reason. Call a taxi, a ride-hailing service, or a sober friend. 
4. If you’re hosting a party where alcohol will be served, make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.
5. Always wear your seat belt — it’s your best defense against impaired drivers.

If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact local law enforcement. Your actions could help save someone’s life.

The Effects of Blood Alcohol Concentration 

Table describing BAC and typical effects of various BAC levels

BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION (BAC) IN G/DL	TYPICAL EFFECTS	PREDICTABLE EFFECTS ON DRIVING
.02	Some loss of judgment; relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood	Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target), decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention)
.05	Exaggerated behavior, may have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes), impaired judgment, usually good feeling, lowered alertness, release of inhibition	Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations
.08	Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing), harder to detect danger; judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired	Concentration, short-term memory loss, speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search), impaired perception
.10	Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking	Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately
.15	Far less muscle control than normal, vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol), major loss of balance	Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing

The economic costs of these crashes include:

• Lost productivity
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• Workplace losses
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• Legal expenses
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• Medical costs
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• Emergency medical services
  
  
• Insurance administration
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• Congestion
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• Property damage

Chart

HOW TO USE THESE CHARTS: Find the chart that includes your weight. Look at the total number of drinks you have had and compare that to the time shown. You can quickly tell if you are at risk of being arrested. * If your BAC level is in the blue zone, your chances of having an accident are 5 times higher than if you had no drinks, and 25 times higher if your BAC level falls into the black zone.

REMEMBER: "One drink" is a 1 1/4-ounce shot of 80-proof liquor (even if it's mixed with non-alcoholic drinks), a 4-ounce glass of wine, or 10 ounces of 5.7% beer. If you have larger or stronger drinks, drink on an empty stomach, are tired, sick, upset, or have taken medicines or drugs you can be UNSAFE WITH FEWER DRINKS.

Why does Driving Under The Influence affect me?

The reason why driving under the influence affects my personal life is because I know a lot of people that have been involved in a car crash or have gotten pulled over because they are drunk. I have a family member that left his friends house drunk and on his way home he crashed into a wall and almost lost his life due to the consumption of alcohol beverages. Also, plenty of my friends have got pulled over while they are drunk and this has affected there entire life because they can't get a job or drive a motor vehicle to get around for a couple years until they clear their issue. Not only do I have friends and family that have been affected because of drunk driving but every time I sit down and watch the news on the TV, I always see car crashes due to drunk drivers and it is really sad because they are a lot of innocent people that get involved into these type of situations therefore there needs to be more restrictions to stop drunk driving. 

I chose this topic because people need to stop drinking and driving. Now days, there are plenty of apps to download on your phone to get around places such as Uber, Lyft, and other ride apps. It is okay to drink and have fun but that means you can't operate a vehicle. If someone is drunk call a someone to pick you up or use a phone app top get around places. They are plenty of death that have happen everyday to the consumption of alcohol. 

References

1. Anonymous. (2020, January 17). Drunk Driving. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving

2. Drinking and Driving: A Serious and Deadly Crime. (2020, October 21). Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/crimes/dui/

3. ACTIONS RESULTING IN LOSS OF LICENSE ALCOHOL IMPAIRMENT CHARTS DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL AND/OR DRUGS /IS ILLEGAL. https://studentwellness.uci.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/BAC-Chart.pdf