Driving Under the Influence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Driving Under the Influence - Essay ExampleStatistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA (2013) indicate that motor fomite crashes resulting from alcohol impairment costs over $37 billion every year. In 2010, the number of associated demises were 10,000, accounting for about 31% of traffic-related deaths in the US, implying one death in every 51 minutes. Therefore, those driving under the influence pose a serious social problem to the society. This has seen many organizations, such as Students Against intoxicated Driving, SADD and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MADD, set up to impact on public attitude and the enactment of appropriate legislation on DUI (Carper & McKinsey, 2012). A police officer could concern a driver for various reasons including speeding, dangerous and aggressive driving, running the red lights or just an equipment violation. Pulling over such drivers aims at ensuring the safety of the defendant and all the other road users. When on e is suspected of crapulence and as such stopped, submission to a field sobriety test would be required. This former test conducted at the scene could involve standard roadside tests as documented by the NHTSA (2013). An officer conducting the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test looks whether the suspects eyes jerk involuntarily. ... Intrusive and extractive systems have however proven to be expensive as more states rely on the accurate and economical method of using machines such as the breathalyzer to measure vapor content. Refusal to submit to such a chemical test in the pre-text of the right against self-incrimination could lead to the drivers license being revoked. This follows the implied consent to test of sobriety whenever suspected by the police, with Nemeth (2012) documenting this implication through the acceptance of a driving license. Carper & McKinsey mother the example of the Illinois Vehicle Code which states that for any one below 21 arrested as evidenced by a Uniform Traffic Ticket shall be deemed to have given consent to chemical tests of blood, breath, or urine to determine the blood alcohol content of such a person, provided the police have a reason to believe that the driver has consumed alcohol (2012, 474). Even so, before revoking the license, the driver has the right to warning of the effect of law and administrative or court hearing. any the 50 states in America have set the blood alcohol concentration, BAC of 0.08 as the legal limit for all drunk driving. The BAC for commercial drivers is even lower, at 0.04. For those below the age of 21, the limit is set to zero any level of alcohol warrants arrest of such persons. Some jurisdictions illegalize driving while fetching alcohol, as such, open container of alcohol in a car could warrant an arrest. BAC conveniently measures the alcohol content in the blood by weight. According to Hunter, Wong, Beighley, and Morral (2006), this intoxication level could be reached by a 120-pound female an d 180-pound male after only two