Driving under the influence not only affects the person behind the wheel, but also every individual that is traveling on an interstate or road. The decision to drive drunk places lives of innocent people at risk. News outlets are constantly airing segments that explain how an innocent person was killed due to a drunk driver. It is disheartening to watch interviews of the victims’ families and see them mourn over their loss. The job of all levels of government is to protect civilians and this can be achieved by devoting public funds to prevent drunk driving. It is unsafe and inhumane to allow these careless drivers to return to society without undergoing a form of counseling and the ability to be monitored by law enforcement officers. Drivers convicted of driving under the influence deserve to experience consequences and gain knowledge upon reflecting on their unwise choices. No family should endure the pain and agony of losing a loved one because of a reckless driver. To prevent individuals from driving while intoxicated key steps must be enacted and enforced. The three most effective ways to combat this ongoing conflict is through sobriety checkpoints, ignition interlock devices and rehabilitation programs.  Expanding state and national funds devoted to strengthening drunk driving laws is necessary to improve the safety of all automobile drivers and passengers in the United States.

Drunk driving laws vary by state but bills passed in multiple regions relating to drunk driving are often approved in several states across America.  States routinely propose similar law enforcement bills passed by other states only if they feel it is beneficial for the majority of residents. The priority of enacting bills to prevent and punish individuals for the crime of drunk driving is to build a safer America for all people. “Drunk driving accounts for nearly ten thousand traffic fatalities a year in the U.S” (Gregory). It is astonishing to learn that this number is still exceedingly high although researchers continue to develop new methods to combat the problem. Thousands of lives are lost because of reckless individuals driving under the influence and actions must be made to lower the amount of deaths and injuries. Drunk driving continues to occur but fewer arrests are being made. Public officials stated DUI arrests have significantly decreased over the past three years and fear too many people are getting away with committing the crime (Ricks). Drunk drivers are able to elude arrests by abiding by all traffic laws, maintaining an updated car registration and refusing to take a coordination test. This is in part due to the lack of adequate numbers of police officers throughout the United States devoted to strict enforcement of drunk driving.  Even if an individual is convicted of driving under the influence he or she can appeal the decision and end up with no criminal record. In December of 2013, a Texas teenager was sentenced to probation a treatment at a juvenile facility for killing four people while driving drunk (Jonsson). This headline ignites the debate whether individuals of all ages that commit drunk driving deserve higher levels of punishment. Incidents such as the one involving the reckless teenager in Texas must be eliminated and this can only be possible if public officials place battling drunk driving as a top priority. Fortunately, law enforcement continues to promote more severe drunk driving laws in hopes of preventing people of all ages from driving intoxicated. The stricter laws include a “zero tolerance policy that grants long term prison time” to minors that are charged with driving under the influence with any blood alcohol level (Gordon). Law enforcement strongly believes the zero tolerance policy discourages teens from underage drinking and driving. This policy will set a precedent for the strict ramifications that coincide with operating a motor vehicle while underage drinking.

Drunk driving to any extent places innocent lives of civilians in danger. The research clearly shows that drivers with a Blood Alcohol Level above “0.05 are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured” (Gregory). Even though a Blood Alcohol level of 0.05 is below the legal limit, ramifications of inducing this small amount increase a person’s chance of an accident. While driving a motor vehicle, alcohol will impair judgment, coordination and reaction time. A moment of impairment is enough to distract and cause a driver to collide with another car or crash, killing themselves and others. While driving a motor vehicle, alcohol will impair judgment, coordination and reaction time. “According to statistics the NTSB cites, drivers with a .05 to .08 BAC represent over 8% of all drivers involved in fatal accidents. And that number does not reflect whether alcohol-impairment caused the crash.” (Ahlers). Those who are skeptical of whether Blood Alcohol Content affects the body at any level must take in consideration that nearly one out of ten automobile accidents resulting in death stem from a BAC of .05 to .08. If an individual can have a lapse in judgement while maintaining a blood alcohol level below the legal limit, it is senseless to believe that any person under the influence of alcohol can be a responsible and safe driver.  “Research suggests that lowering the legal limit to 0.05 could save 500 to 1,000 lives a year” (Gregory). One alcohol related death is too many so discouraging drinking and driving completely can save thousands of lives annually throughout the United States. On May 14, 1988, a drunk driver drove his pickup the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky. The truck hit a school bus, “killing 24 children and three adults. More than 30 others were hurt” (Ahlers).   Catastrophic events such as the one that occurred near Carrollton, Kentucky in 1988 are preventable if alcohol is not consumed by drivers before traveling on roads and highways. Drunk Driving kills children under twelve years old at twice the rate of speeding and car malfunctions (Ricks). Lowering the legal limit of alcohol consumption will save lives of not only adults but children that did not choose for adults to drive recklessly No type of punishment for irresponsible drivers can bring back the lives lost from a drunk driving catastrophe.  Lives of families who lost loved ones in the disaster were changed forever because of alcohol that impaired the driver’s judgment.

Coordinating sobriety checkpoints and utilizing preliminary breath testing devices lowers the chance of drunk drivers evading arrest. This initiative involves police officers setting up stations across roadways to stop drivers suspected of drinking. Sobriety checkpoints have been shown to reduce the incidence of drunk driving and alcohol-related crashes “anywhere from 15 to 25 percent” (Gordon).   Checkpoints are routinely visible to warn drunk drivers they have a high risk of being arrested or stopped. Also, officers are able to arrest and imprison persons that do not pass breath tests diminish the convicted DUI criminal from continuing to drink and drive. Preliminary breath testing devices “are passive sensors that can detect the presence of alcohol from within a few inches of a driver's face” (Dallas).  Police officers are not mandated to have probable cause that a person is under the influence of alcohol when they use a preliminary breath testing device. Another benefit of preliminary breath testing devices is that the device overrides breath fresheners used by drunk drivers to hide the alcohol odor. Fortunately, drunk drivers will be unable to evade law enforcement at sobriety checkpoints and results revealing alcohol content inside the body after taking a breath test. 

Interlock devices placed on cars of drunk drivers deemed as repeat offenders will aid in maintaining safety for all people traveling on roads. Interlock devices known as ignition lock devices prevent automobiles from starting until the driver provides a breath sampler that is then analyzed. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, interlocks lower the re-arrest rate of drunken drivers by two-thirds” (Gordon).  Interlocks inhibit people who have recently drunk alcohol from putting their lives and the lives of others in jeopardy. The judgment call is taken out of the hands of a driver that is likely to commit an unwise decision placing him and other individuals in danger.  In addition, the repeat DUI offender no longer has the choice to drive unless they are sober. This is a result of the interlock device technology that will not permit the car to start until the breathalyzer test by the driver has been approved. “Twenty-one states and four counties in California require interlocks for all drunk driving offenders” (Gregory). The national trend reveals an urgency of lawmakers in their respective states to institute change through decreased drunk driving deaths. One of the states requiring interlocks is Minnesota who decided to expand their public funding regarding the State Department of Public Safety in 2013. The influx of public funds allowed the department to increase the number of ignition interlock devices from “5,276 installations in 2013 to 9,780 in 2015” (Gordon).  It is evident that several states have decided to implement interlock laws to increase the safety of citizens in their area and the interlock requirement continues to spread across the United States because of its efficiency.  With interlock devices, law enforcement officers will not have to physically be at each location to restrict a drunk driver from traveling on a road or highway.

Authorizing rehabilitation programs for individuals charged of drunk driving promotes the general welfare of all persons traveling on roadways.  “Requiring convicted drunk drivers to complete alcohol assessment, counseling, or treatment programs. There is evidence that successful completion of mandatory alcohol assessment and treatment programs can reduce the likelihood that those with clinically diagnosed alcohol problems will be re-arrested for drunk driving. Also, it would not be possible for a person convicted of drunk driving to avoid the rehabilitation and counseling unless they wanted an extended prison sentence. Depending on the quality of the program, the occurrence of repeat drunk driving arrests and alcohol-related crashes “can be reduced by as much as 5 to 10 percent” (Dallas). Providing programs for individuals convicted of drunk driving allows drunk drivers to comprehend the risks of their actions. Plus, convicted drunk drivers can reflect on their actions and discuss with helpful mentors on how to positively change their lifestyle. Individuals do not want to reenter the program so there is a higher likelihood they will drive in a more responsible and safe manner. “Researchers analyzed 2000-10 government traffic deaths data and found 2,344 passengers younger than age 15 were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver” (Tougher).  Drunk drivers that learn of the lives maliciously taken from individuals including young people will discourage them from continuing to commit their unlawful actions. Over 75% of convicted drunk drivers that complete programs certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association have pledged to drive sober and restrain from driving while impaired (Ahlers). Connecting with victims of families who had a loved one fall victim to drunk driving will put the convicted driver’s choices in perspective. Furthermore, drivers convicted of alcohol impaired driving gather a deeper understanding of their dangerous decisions by viewing visual representations of individuals severely injured or lifeless after a drunk driving related automobile collision.

Skeptics of increasing state and local funding for drunk driving believe that the measures in place are satisfactory and that there is no reason to invest money in monitoring devices that may produce an incorrect reading. People who challenge funding are not fully informed on the statistics involving drunk driving because any reasonable individual who hears of the thousands of deaths involving drunk drivers would promote initiatives that not only improve their personal safety but also the safety of friends and family. Although ignition interlock devices do not have a one hundred percent accuracy rate, states that mandate the device have vastly improved their public safety on roads and highways. The device is only required for repeat offenders of drunk driving so it is not restricting responsible everyday drivers from starting their car. A study by the Boston Medical Center investigated the correlation between alcohol related deaths of young people and the amount and strength of drunk driving policies in a specified state. The results revealed comprehensive alcohol related driving policies “not only decrease the amount of young people killed from driving under the influence incidents, but also reduces the amount of underage drinking” (Chedekel). Fewer teen deaths and a reduction in underage drinking are two major benefits of strong alcohol policies that will ensure a future for today’s youth. Instead of choosing to drink at an event and go behind the wheel of an automobile, teenagers will choose to engage in more productive activities once they hear of the legal ramifications involved with driving under the influence.    

The funding and implementation of interlock devices, sobriety checkpoints and rehabilitation programs for drunk drivers is possible through excise taxes and responsible citizens lobbying for reform with their local and national lawmakers. Excise taxes on alcoholic beverages will provide state governments with additional revenue that can be distributed to initiatives that attempt to limit the amount of people who drive under the influence. Rather than forcing people who do not consume alcohol to pay for the initiatives, the alcohol excise tax forces individuals who drink to second guess their decision. While there is no effect on a specific numerical amount, it is known that even “small price increases associated with state excise tax increases causes a reduction in alcohol related fatal accidents” (Ricks).  People who buy alcohol on a consistent basis will reduce their number of purchases which will coincide with a decreased amount of accidents involving driving under the influence. As advocates of safety in communities and nationwide, it is the duty of concerned United States citizens to encourage lawmakers to expand public funding for drunk driving. Each additional dollar devoted to battling this national issue is an investment in technology that is proven to reduce drunk driving incidents. An individual is capable of enabling change in their region by writing letters to local senate members who create and revise laws within a state.        

A reduction in drunk driving is obtainable through expanded state and national funding that will allow for more strict enforcement of DUI laws and increased education on the conflict. Driving with blood alcohol content at any level is dangerous but can be prevented through interlock devices, police checkpoints, breath testing devices and rehabilitation programs. A drunk driving incident is not a single event that can be quickly erased from one’s memory. It is a life changing occurrence for both the driver and victim because the driver will likely spend time in prison while the victim may be severely injured or even face death. Do not let others drive drunk because it is guaranteed that it will only result in pain and heartache for everyone involved. Instead, be a designated driver for friends or strangers and this will allow all individuals to drive safer. The negative consequences of drinking while driving far outweigh any motive or reasoning to commit the irrational choice. Ultimately, support by citizens within the United States to approve bills expanding funding and enforcing drunk driving will result in a safer society.
