Drunk Driving means Accidents and Legal Inconveniences

Drunk driving brings nothing but trouble and misery. The first and least problem is running afoul of the law against DUI or driving under the influence. Penalties for DUI, even for the first offense, have been increased all around. There are even state laws that now impose mandatory jail time especially for repeat offenders. But the worst thing that can happen is your losing limb and life as drunk driving has been consistently shown as parent to road accidents.

Images via Flickr mamabaig

On the stricter laws against drunk driving, about two-third of the states have now passed Administrative License Revocation (ALR) laws, which allows the arresting officer to take the license of drivers who fail or refuse to take a breath test. The fines imposed for driving while intoxicated are larger, the length of license suspension longer and redeeming a confiscated licenses made doubly harder. That should be enough warning and deterrent for law-abiding citizens who hate tussles with the law.


Many states have passed Habitual Violator laws, which provide felony penalties for three DUI convictions. These offenders can lose many of their civil rights like being able to vote or own a weapon as well as their driver’s license permanently or for many, many years. In order to get that license back, most states now require offenders to complete some form of a DUI school or education and assessment program. Now the offender must first go through an assessment interview with a professional counselor before it is decided what steps must be completed before the driver’s license is reinstated. The counselor, based on his assessment of the drunk driver, can mandate attendance in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a residential treatment program, detoxification or other medical treatment.


All of this cost time and money or both on top of the fines and probation fees the offender must pay. But that is not the only cost involved. Many states also require additional insurance coverage before returning driving privileges to DUI offenders, and that can run into serious money. Then there is the fee most states charge for re-issuing a driver’s license.

Images via Flickr NehaSarin

But despite all the warnings, public awareness and educational programs, stiffer penalties for violations, and efforts by law enforcement agencies across the nation to be more visible and diligent in protecting the highways, people still get behind the wheel of their vehicles while intoxicated. According to a morbidity and mortality report of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, vehicular accidents are the leading cause of death in the US in any given year. And over 40 percent of these deaths are DUI-related (source: http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/r020703.htm).


In effect, the justice system is holding drunk drivers accountable for the damage they do to those killed or injured on the highways. The monetary liabilities for such incidents can run into millions of dollars, not to mention the criminal penalties. In some areas, part of the DUI school curriculum puts offenders face to face with victims, who tell their painful stories of how a drunk driver changed their lives forever. The idea is that personalizing the pain that drinking and driving can cause might make the offender stop and think before getting behind the wheel.


This is what the National Traffic Safety Institute is trying to do. NTSI offers a variety of programs designed for violators with a first or multiple driving offenses related to alcohol or other drugs. These educational programs are 12 hours to 18 months in duration, depending on individual requirements. The programs offer an intensive, individualized analytical and educational examination of the dangers and problems (both personal and social) of impaired driving. Addiction, the disease concept of alcoholism, family history of alcoholism, and denial are among the topics covered in the program.


For more information about Defensive Driving Courses, please visit the National Traffic Safety Institute at http://www.ntsi.com, call us at (866) 346-3283, or email us at corporate@ntsi.com.

Phone Use While Driving As Dangerous As DUI

Images: Goodtodrive

With the advent of mobile phone technology that sees everyone owning even more than one unit of a cellular phone at a time comes a new menace to road safety and human lives. Text messaging or using a mobile phone while driving now accounts for most car crashes that used to be attributed solely to driving under the influence or DUI.


 



In the US, for example, official statistics show that someone gets killed every 53 minutes in a drunk driving crash, which translates to 27 fatalities every day. Every 90 seconds, someone is also injured in a drunk driving incident. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that alcohol-related vehicular collisions caused 17,941 deaths in 2006 alone. This represented a high 40 percent of total traffic deaths in the US.


The grim statistics on road accidents resulting from calling or taking a call on a mobile phone while driving are not far behind.


Research conducted by the NHTSA asserts that drivers who use either a handheld or hands-free cellphone are four times more likely to get into a crash serious enough to cause injury or death. At any given moment during the daylight hours, over 800,000 vehicles in the US are being driven by someone using a cellphone, according to that research. It says both hand-held and hands-free mobile phones impair driving, with no significant difference in this degree of impairment.


Using a mobile phone while driving can be distracting. It makes no difference whether you are talking on the phone, texting, playing games or taking photos. Studies have found that using a mobile phone while driving slows reaction times and interferes with a driver’s perception skills to increase the chances of figuring in a crash.


It is as dangerous as DUI to use a mobile phone while driving because it hampers decision making, for one. Deciding when it is safe to turn in traffic is a complex task. When your attention is divided, this affects your judgment and you may fail to choose a safe gap in tight situations. When making a decision to turn across oncoming traffic, you also tend not to consider the environmental conditions such as when it is raining or the roads are slippery. If you don’t make safe turns in time you’re likely to crash.


Your reaction is also slower and less controlled. You generally react slower when using a mobile phone, particularly when you’re deep in conversation. So you may take longer to respond to traffic signals or completely miss them. During a mobile phone call your brake reaction time is slower, and you stop with more force and less control which results in shorter stopping distances available between yourself and the car in front.


When using a phone while driving, you’re more likely to wander out of your lane even on a straight road with light traffic.   You also tend to spend less time checking your mirrors and what’s going on around you which can affect your ability to monitor and negotiate traffic safely.


If talking on a mobile while driving is an utmost necessity, it may be wise to keep the conversation short and peremptory. Don’t engage in complex, emotional or romantic conversations. Tell the person on the other end that you are driving and may have to end the call. End the call if it is distracting you from driving and never ever make calls in heavy traffic, poor road conditions or bad weather.


For more information about Defensive Driving Course, please visit National Traffic and Safety Institute website at www.ntsi.com, call us at (866) 346-3283 or email us at corporate@ntsi.com