I don’t know about you, but I guess I sort of thought that drunk driving was a thing of the past.
I mean, with emergence of Uber and Lyft, why would anyone ever drive a car while intoxicated? It’s just so stupid and unnecessary.
Well, apparently it is still a thing.
I know this because I recently got a fundraising letter in the mail from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD). It turns out drunk driving is still the #1 cause of death on our roadways.
According to MADD, drunk driving “kills almost 11,000 people a year – one person every 48 minutes – and injures more that 315,000 others.” That’s 30 people. A. DAY.
MADD goes on to lament the lack of national attention on the issue. Sad, there are so many other issues that have pushed this one out of the limelight (mass shootings, for example; or vaping, for another).
The good news is that “drunk driving deaths are down by more than half from when [MADD] began” in 1980.
But that is little solace. Is any death or injury at the hands of a drunk driver okay? Yeah, no.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has some solid videos as well as good info. Check it out.
The Law:
The AAA Digest of Motor Laws (my fave) indicates that “all 50 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating beverages, with the illegal per se limit set at 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration (.08 BAC). All 50 states and the District of Columbia set the legal drinking age at 21.
“Every state’s chemical test law has ‘‘an implied consent’’ provision providing that any person operating a motor vehicle on a public highway, who is suspected of driving while intoxicated, consents to a chemical test to determine if he or she is inebriated. Failure to submit or pass such a test may cause the driver’s license to be suspended or revoked regardless of any court action finding the person innocent of the charge.
“The most comprehensive resource on U.S. impaired driving laws is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Digest of Impaired Driving and Selected Beverage Control Laws. NHTSA’s Digest is updated annually.”
There are endless news articles and resources on this topic on the internet.
My final word on the matter? You are a total idiot, dummy and jackass if you drive drunk. It is exceedingly selfish. Just get yourself a darn Uber, Lyft, taxi or designated driver.
It’s not that hard.
Resources:
Intoxalock: Top 10 States with the Worst DUI Problems
