Should Drunk Drivers be Imprisoned on the First Offense - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1802 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/04/04 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Drunk Driving Essay Did you like this example? Should Drunk Drivers be Imprisoned on the First Offense? Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 29% of the total vehicle traffic fatalities in 2017, according to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. Drunk drivers should be imprisoned on the first offense, based on the severity and circumstances. According to Nave Law Firm, New York has one of the lowest arrest rates in proportion to its population (0.19%) but proves the trend that alcohol is responsible for 1/3 of all car crashes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Should Drunk Drivers be Imprisoned on the First Offense?" essay for you Create order Stated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 1.5 million people were arrested in a given year for driving under the influence of alcohol. This means that one out of every 121 licensed drivers were arrested for drunk driving. (Drunk Driving Arrest Statistics 1) It is clear that based on statistics and state laws, driving while intoxicated is a serious issue that is continuing to grow. In New York and every other state, the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level limit is 0.08%. This means that someone with a BAC of 0.08% or more is legally considered drunk, or intoxicated. There are several different alcohol violations in New York State. The first type of violation is Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), which is a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher. There is also Aggravated DWI which is a BAC of .18 or higher. The next violation is Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol DWAI/Alcohol, which would classify as a BAC of more than .05 but less than .07. Your DWI penalties depend on factors such as your age, the substance impairing you, your drivers license, and whether you submitted to a chemical test (DUI and DWI in New York 2). According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, if you are younger than 21 years old and youre caught driving with a BAC of 0.02% or higher, youve broken New Yorks Zero Tolerance Law. If it is your first offense, you can receive a suspended license for six months, $125 civil penalty, $100 fee for suspension termination, possible enrollment in the New York Drinking Driver Program (DDP) and all the associated costs, and possible ignition interlock device installation and all associated costs. If it is your second offense, it is license revocation for 1 year or until you turn 21 years old, $125 civil penalty, $100 fee for suspension termination, possible enrollment in the DDP along with costs, and possible ignition interlock device installation. If you are over the age of 21 and are charged with DWAI/Alcohol as a first offense, it is license suspension for 90 days, a $300 to $500 fine, a minimum $250 annual assessment fine, for a total of $750 in fines over 3 years, up to 15 days in jail, and possible enrollment in the New York Drinking Driver Program. If you get a second DWAI/Alcohol charge in 5 years, you face license revocation for at least six months, a $500 to $750 fine, a minimum $250 annual assessment fine, for a total of $750 fines over 3 years, up to 30 days in jail, and possible enrollment in DDP. A charge of DWI as your first offense gives you a license revocation for six months, a $500 to $1,000 fine, a minimum $250 annual assessment fine, for a total of $750 in fines over 3 years, up to one year in jail, and possible enrollment in DDP. The penalties you face if you commit another DWI offense within 10 years of your first offense are license revocation for at least one year, a $1,000- $5,000 fine, a minimum $250 annual assessment fine for a total of $750 in fines over 3 years, up to 4 years in jail with a minimum of 5 days in jail or 30 days of community service, a class E felony, and possible enrollment in DDP (DUI and DWI in New York 4). In 2017, 10,874 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver, 29 percent of all fatalities (Alcohol Impaired Driving 1). As a nation, we spend $5.4 billion a week on alcohol, thats an average $36.56 per person, every week, or almost $2,000 a year on alcohol (Drunk Driving Stats 1). Drivers with prior DWI convictions are also overrepresented in fatal crashes and have a greater relative risk of fatal crash involvement. One study showed that about 3 percent of all licensed drivers had a prior arrest for DWI within the past three years, yet 12 percent of intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes had at least one prior DWI conviction in the past three years. That same study showed that intoxicated drivers with prior DWI convictions had 4.1 times the risk of being in a fatal crash as intoxicated drivers without prior DWIs. Another study showed that fatal crash risk increases with the number of prior DWI arrests (Repeat DWI Offenders in U.S. 1). Although drinking alcohol depends on factors such as weight, sex, and a persons metabolism, there is a general rule of thumb for the amount of alcohol consumed and BAC. According to Steven F. Groce, attorney at law, 2 standard drinks consumed during the first hour of drinking, will increase a persons level of blood alcohol concentration to approximately .05%. Most people wont realize how quickly their alcohol concentration will rise, even after one drink. If punishments were even tougher for drivers on the first offense, they wouldnt be as likely to continue to do it. Most people feel that they shouldnt receive a harsh punishment if it is their first offense, which ultimately leads them to do it again. Just because you are arrested doesnt mean you will be convicted. Receiving a fine or a license suspension does not send a message to people not to drink and drive. Drunk driving is a selfish act that not only puts the impaired driver at risk, but effects the lives of other innocent drivers. You often see stories in the news on fatal car accidents caused by drunk drivers where the lives of an innocent human being was taken due to a poor decision to drink and drive by someone else. One headline on ABC 7 News on October 3, 2018 was Calverton, Long Island (WABC)†The family of the Boy Scout killed by an alleged drunk driver on Long Island says the world has lost an amazing 12- year- old boy (Thorne 1). This was a drunk driver who chose to drive a car and hit a group of boy scouts walking on a sidewalk. Fox 8 News had a headline on October 22, 2018, Family mourns 4 people killed in suspected drunk driving crash (Dipiazza 1). This is another incidence where a man chose to drink and drive, run a stop sign, and crash into another car killing all four people. I have a personal experience on what drunk driving can do to people. Meghan Wood of 20 Christine Court had pled guilty to a seven-count indictment in connection with the death of Lisa Moray. Wood was driving on June 18, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. when her SUV ran off an entrance from leading from the Sprain Brook Parkway to the Cross-County Expressway, ran up an embankment and rolled over coming to rest on its wheels. Moray was pronounced dead at the scene. Woods blood alcohol level was .18 percent, more than double the legal limit (Driver in Vehicular Homicide Sentenced to Prison 1). Lisa Moray, my aunt, was in the car when her friend made the decision to drink and drive. A poor decision to drink and drive a car can be controlled, but the life of an innocent person cant be brought back. Drunk driving is a nationwide issue that is continuing to grow. With harsher laws and punishments, the number of fatalities and alcohol related incidents can be greatly reduced. With taxis, Uber, Lyft and any other type of public transportation, there is no reason to drink and drive. For every arrest made for driving while intoxicated (DWI), an estimated 500 to 2,000 drunk driving incidents go unpenalized, although more arrests are made for drunk driving in America than for any other offense and significant sums are spent on enforcement. Even doubling or quadrupling the number of arrests would leave the chance of arrest extremely small. With the possibility of getting caught so slim, it may seem that people would shrug off an effort by police to make more arrests (Preventing Drunk Driving 1). One way to be able to catch more drunk drivers on the road is increase sobriety checks. Law enforcement officials did a study to assess how two types of drinking- driving laws permitting sobriety checkpoints and prohibiting open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles are associated with drinking- driving and how enforcement efforts may affect these associations. They found that states with a sobriety checkpoint law, compared to those without a law, had 18.2% lower drinking- driving and states that conducted sobriety checks monthly had 40.6% lower drinking- driving (Traffic Injury Prevention 1). Even as a first offense, treatment or at least a few days in jail depending on a persons BAC should be given to prove how serious of a matter it is. Some of the time, most people will get away with drinking and driving if they didnt have too much. This leads them to continue to do it because they feel if they were able to do it the other times, they can do it again. According to Christine G. Holzmueller, Drunk Driving, the effects brought on by alcohol start to appear with a BAC of 0.02%. These effects include a loss of judgement and a decline in the drivers ability to quickly track moving objects or perform two tasks at a time. Once a persons BAC reaches 0.05, the risk of a fatal crash substantially increases. People dont realize one drink can have an effect on their ability to drive a car. Drinking and driving not only poses a threat to your life, it can affect many other things as well. You could lose your job, it can raise your insurance, your incident can be made public for others to know, and you will have to live with guilt for the rest of your life if you injure or kill someone. Athens High School seniors experienced first-hand the effects and consequences of drunk and distracted driving during a daylong drunk driving awareness event Wednesday, just a few days before many of them will go to prom (Pavlik- Hernandez 1). This was an event in Athens, Alabama where a number of law enforcement and medical services went to a high school to show students what goes on during a drunk driving accident. Actions like these help get the message across to young kids, and show them in depth what would happen in a situation like that. Ultimately, everyone knows drinking and driving is against the law. If you are willing to risk your life, and someone elses, you should have to face a harsh consequence for it, even if that is imprisonment. It is an ongoing problem that will continue unless the penalties become harsher. You can save your life, the lives of others, and the grief a family will go through in losing a loved one from a poor decision, just like my family has to.

Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury - 1056 Words

Technology 232.8 Degrees Celsius When is the last time a person has eaten dinner with their family while using their cellular device? When is the last time a person has eaten dinner without their family and instead, he or she watched an interactive TV show? Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has a powerful message for readers today as the world described in the novel and our world today share many similarities. Fahrenheit 451 is about futuristic firemen who burn books because they are illegal. Due to the neglecting force towards books, people have an increased interest in technology and are using it all the time. Our world today is quite similar to the world in the novel because in both worlds interactive TV shows are watched often, people are using their technological devices all the time, and tracking devices are used. In the novel’s world and in our world, interactive TV shows are watched quite often. Many interactive TV shows exist in our world today such as American Idol and Dora, The Explorer. In Am erican Idol, the people watching at home and the people in the audience are given a chance to vote for their favorite singers. This allows the viewers to participate in the show and therefore be a contributing factor to the outcome. In Dora The Explorer, Dora constantly asks questions to the viewers of the show. The little children that watch this show answer her and even though she cannot hear them, the little children feel that they are a part of the show. InShow MoreRelatedFahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury719 Words   |  3 PagesThe flash point of paper, or the temperature at which paper will burst in flames, is 451 degrees Fahrenheit. In Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, the main character, Guy Montag, is a â€Å"fireman† in a futuristic society where he and his coworkers start fires, rather than put them out. Books are banned and burned, along with the owner of the book’s house and sometimes even the owner of the book, upon discovery. Technology has take n over in a sense that social interaction between the average personRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1952 Words   |  8 Pagesis clearly displayed in the plight of Ray Bradbury’s novel about a dystopian American society, Fahrenheit 451, which contains many ideas and bits of content that some people believed should be censored. In fact, one of the reasons that this novel was censored for displaying the dangers of censorship, which is both extremely ironic, and telling as to where this society is going. Thanks to several distributors and oversensitive parents and teachers, Fahrenheit 451 has been banned in many schools overRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury954 Words   |  4 Pages In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the author uses allegory (often misinterpreted by readers) to show the dangers of mass media consumption and the decline of reading traditional media. Many readers draw incorrect conclusions (lessons learned) from the book due to how generally the book applies its theme. Government censorship, though an important topic, is not the intended focus of the novel Fahrenheit 451. Finally, Bradbury’s original message of the book shows the beauty of traditional media andRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1592 Words   |  7 PagesWhen writing the introduction to Fahrenheit 451, author Neil Gaiman stated that â€Å"ideas--written ideas--are special. They are the way we transmit our stories and our thoughts from one generation to the next. If we lose them, we lose our shared history†. Gaiman is absolutely correct; especially because what he is saying heavily applies to books. Books are a critical aspect in shaping humanity as a whole, they create and share a network of creative ideas, history, and overall entertainment; to loseRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1661 Words   |  7 Pages1.) In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag’s view on life reverses. Two characters the influence the m ain character Guy Montag are the old lady whose house and books were burnt down and Mildred. The old lady was caught preserving books in her home. Firemen including Montag were ordered to burn the books. The old lady refused to leave her books, so she too was burned. She bravely gave an allusion as her last words, â€Å"Play the man,’ she said, ‘Master Ridley.’ Something, somethingRead MoreFahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury818 Words   |  4 PagesFAHRENHEIT 451 BY RAY BRADBURY Important People in Montag’s Life In Partical Fulfillment Of English 2 Ms Irina Abramov By Helen Hernandez November 9, 2012 â€Å"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them† -Ray Bradbury. In the past there were events that affected book writers. People will get together to burn books because they thought it was inappropriate or they were against their literature. Montag is a fireman in a futuristic society who would startRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury918 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Fahrenheit 451,† written by Ray Bradbury, is a futuristic, dystopian novel based upon a society secluded by technology and ignorance. In this future society, books are outlawed and firemen are presented with the task of burning books that are found in people’s homes. Montag, a fireman, finds himself intrigued with the books, and begins to take them home and read them. As the story progresses, Montag learns the truth behind why books are outlawed and flees his city to join the last remnants of age-oldRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury863 Words   |  4 PagesTh e novel, Fahrenheit 451 was written by Ray Bradbury and it took place in the dystopian future. Throughout each novel, we are able to see a major theme, which is censorship. In this essay, I will explain how this theme are explored in the story by using the literary devices. To begin with, in this novel, censorship is not given a straight description, but we can see how the author shows it through many literary elements, such as using the setting, tone and symbolisms even foreshadowing. This novelRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury943 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel Fahrenheit 451, written in 1951 by Ray Bradbury. There are many similarities between the novel and contemporary society, including technology, family lifestyle and censorship. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury’s main focus was on technology, such as televisions. Televisions were a big deal back in 1950, individuals were thrilled to get their hands on the new device. When it comes to Mildred, Montag s wife in Fahrenheit 451 novel. Mildred was so obsessed with televisions. She had three differentRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1592 Words   |  7 PagesWhen writing the introduction to Fahrenheit 451, author Neil Gaiman stated that â€Å"ideas--written ideas--are special. They are the way we transmit our stories and our thoughts from one generation to the next. If we lose them, we lose our shared history†. Gaiman is absolutely correct; especially because what he is saying heavily applies to books. Books are a critical aspect in shaping humanity as a whole, they create and share a network of creative ideas, history, and overall entertainment; to lose

Haitian Revolution free essay sample

A revolution is a forcible overthrow of a government or social order for a new system.One of the most important revolution is the American Revolution. The American  Revolution was led by the Sons of Liberty. They were the most prominent men of  Boston. Eventually, farmers and merchants joined the revolution as well. All these men  and women wanted political change. They wanted freedom from England. The  Americans wanted to fight for equality and liberty.  Another great revolutions that has happened was the Haitian Revolution. At the  time Haiti was known as Saint-Domingue and was under the rule of the French. Saint-  Domingue at the time was the richest colony in the West Indies. It produced sugar,  coffee, cocoa, indigo, and tobacco. Their production was driven by slave labor and  enabled by fertile soil and ideal climate. Saint-Domingue had a ten to one ratio. Ten  being slaves and one being free people. We will write a custom essay sample on Haitian Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The slaves of Saint-Domingue had to suffer  more cruel conditions than the North American slaves. Simply because of the more  harsh labors of being on a coffee sugar plantation. The slaves desperately wanted freedom. In August 1791, more than one  hundred thousand slaves revolted against the french. Their main reason to participate  in this revolution was not just for liberty, but for revenge as well. They wanted  revenge for having to go through the enduring pain of being a slave. During the  months of the revolution, the slaves would torch many sugar and coffee plantations.  They would also kill the slave owners. Two years later, the slaves were successful in  gaining their freedom. The convention abolished slavery throughout its Caribbean  colonies and in 1795 granted former slaves full political rights. (pg 626). The American Revolution and Haitian Revolution was a bit similar. The slaves of  Haiti wanted freedom just like the Americans. However, the slaves of Haiti wanted  more than freedom, they wanted revenge. Those who led the revolution in Haiti was  also those who fought in the movement. The leaders of the revolution were  once  slaves. They knew what the harsh conditions that the slaves had to go through.  Therefore, the result would be beneficial to both groups. They gained freedom and  was able to have their revenge.