Substance Abuse: Driving Under the Influence DUI
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 16,694 people died in 2004 in alcohol and drug related traffic collisions, representing 40% of all traffic related deaths in the United States. ("2004 Traffic Safety..." 2005) In addition about half of the one million people injured in road accidents were also due to driving under the influence (DUI). These are startling statistics, which underscore the enormity of the problem posed by the vast number of people who drive while intoxicated. Another point of concern regarding drunk driving or DUI is that repeat or hardcore offenders are the cause of a large proportion of traffic accidents with one out of eight intoxicated drivers in fatal crashes having had a prior DUI/DWI conviction within the past three years. (Pena, 2005) As a result, a number of programs have sprung up around the country seeking to rehabilitate the repeat DUI offenders through education, counseling, and treatment. The laws against DUI and rehab programs have resulted in a gradual but steady decline in fatalities from drunk driving since the 1980s. In this essay, I shall focus on such programs that seek to address the problem of DUI, particularly programs for the chronic and repeat offenders
Convicted DUI offenders can be sent to jail and fined, particularly in case of repeat offenders. Other alternatives to jail sentence, apart from the DUI Programs for rehabilitation that were discussed in the preceding paragraphs are: Electronic Monitoring (wearing of an ankle bracelet that monitors the whereabouts of the wearer); Work Release-the convicted person works at a place determined by the Probation Department and goes home to sleep; Work Furlough-an arrangement in which the participant keeps his job but returns to a dormitory style facility at night; and City Jail-operated by the local police where the participants spend the night but are released during the day. ("Jail Alternatives" 2005) As mentioned in the introduction, there are a number of DUI programs in the United States that seek to control the menace of drunk driving through education, counseling and treatment of the offenders. Some of these programs are described below: Most DUI laws are aimed at deterring driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. One way of deterring DUI offenses is by making policies and laws that change the drivers' attitude towards DUI and by altering their perceptions of the likely consequences as a result of DUI behavior. (Greenburg et al, 2004). Such anti-DUI laws could be enacted and public information campaigns launched that enhance a driver's perception of "the certainty, swiftness and severity of prosecution" for drunk-driving offenses, or by increasing awareness of the physical dangers associated with driving while intoxicated (Ibid.) Some experts believe that the "moral component" of the laws is much more important than the "fear factor" of apprehension and punishment in the long-term control of drunk driving. This is mainly because the likelihood of detection for DUI offenders is very low or uncertain. According to a study quoted by Robin, "On any given outing, an intoxicated driver has less than a 1-in-1000 chance of being apprehended by the police." (Robin 1991) Tough laws against drunken driving have a moral aspect that gradually develop a culture in a society that is intolerant of DUI regardless of the perceived legal risks to the driver involved. Hence, DUI laws are more likely to achieve their objective of controlling drunk driving if we emphasize the morality of the law rather than expect the hardcore violators to be deterred by the fear of getting caught. There are a number of other organizations in the US as well as many other countries that are engaged in conducting programs for the treatment of chronic and repeat DUI offenders. These include the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)-a support group of alcoholics that seeks to cure alcohol addicts from their addiction through a twelve-step process; the Al-Anon/ Al-Ateen Family Groups--a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength, and hope, in order to solve their common problems.4 The Al-Anon programs are based on the belief that alcoholism is a family illness, and that changed attitudes can aid recovery. d)Not less than 30 days community service or 5 days of imprisonment for 2nd offense and not less than 60 days community service or 10 days of imprisonment for 3rd and subsequent offense. ("Minimum Penalties for Repeat offenders" n.d.) In case of alcohol consumption, most states laws have designated the legal limit of blood alcohol content (BAC) for drunk driving at 0.08 (i.e., 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood). In cases of driving under the influence of prescription medication or illicit drugs there is no "per se" or legal l
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Approximate Word count = 2405
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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