This paper is organized into six paragraphs. The first paragraph gives a brief overview of the problem under discussion. The second, third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs offer each a point of argument in putting my point across that any drunk driver should be imprisoned on the first offense. The final paragraph summarizes the paper and restates the purpose of the essay.
Driving under the influence, not only under alcohol, as best understood by drunk driving, is a criminal offense in many countries worldwide. Drunk driving has been reported to be the leading cause of traffic accidents around the globe that has led to many deaths and loss of property. In the US alone, 13 000 deaths are reported yearly on average from drunk driving-related cases, which translates to 1 death every 39 minutes (CBS, 2009). On many occasions, culprits in drunk-driving-related accidents have shown to be serial offenders in the same crime. This has resulted in involved authorities imposing very heavy signs on the offenders. But are the fines serious enough to deter other potential offenders? This has been the question that the public and more persons who have served in the hands of a drunken driver ask.
In the US, each state has responded with its unique way of punishing offenders as guided by its stated traffic laws. However, no matter the laws or the punishments meted out, the number of traffic accidents is spiraling higher and higher. So what would be the final solution or rather the most effective manner to bring down the number and saving lives and saving others unnecessary pain? The best way would be imprisoning offenders in the first offense without bail. In the first place, they have broken a law that is already too lenient of drunk drivers and also because they pose a risk in two ways; themselves and other drivers.
Many arguments have been fronted in challenging drunk driving by the question what level of alcohol consumption is considered as dangerous to drive. All the fifty states in the US agree on the legal limit of alcohol intake that is permissible for a driver at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of.08. This translates to two drinks for an average woman and four drinks for an average male. Unfortunately, as some have literally experienced, our bodies have different tolerance to alcohol intake. As such, it is not reason enough to say that a man, after partaking in four drinks, has the same clear vision prior to consumption.
Invariably, while four drinks seem to be acceptable but still have a relative amount of risk, persons who have exceeded the legal limit should be classified as potential criminals and treated with the handedness that they deserve. Studies have shown that a person on the legal limit “has poor muscle coordination — affecting their balance, speech, vision, reaction time and hearing — find it more difficult to detect danger, and exhibit impaired judgment, self-control, reasoning ability and memory” (Buddy, 2006). While the State governments allow this kind of incompetence in not-so-drunk drivers, it would be totally inhuman to allow a person past poor muscle coordination to hold responsible in a way the life and safety of other road users and pedestrians. It is therefore most logical to have such offenders jailed for their first offence.
Legal experts have equated driving under influence as equitable to murder. A closer look at this line of argument would reveal that there is some element of truth in it. While many will take stock of drunk driving with the number of accidents or deaths reported, other additional costs are left unmentioned. In a CBS News pullout, the psychological suffering that kids involved in traffic accidents, whereby we note a majority are caused by drunk driving leaves the survivors of such accidents in a very bad mental state. Such kids will develop a phobia of driving that will impact greatly in their productivity later in life. With such far reaching consequences of a rather “innocent” moment of indulgence, we realize that it is high time that offenders were made to realize the actual cost of their actions by being a slapped with a generous jail term in their first offence. This will go a long way in warding off potential offenders and actually saving lives and property.
With such solid ground, it is high time that drunk drivers are made to be responsible citizens by being jailed on their first offence and in order to save lives and restore safety and sanity on the roads.
Works cited
Buddy, T. Why You Should Never Drink and Drive.
Connelley, M. The Sundance Writer: A Rhetoric, Reader, and Handbook, New York: Thomson Heinle, 2003.
“DWI Deaths: Is It Murder?” CBS News. Web.