Case Study: Interlocks After First Offense Saves Lives

Decent Essays
Cohn, Meredith. “Study: Interlocks After First Offense Saves Lives.” The Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2017, p. A.3.
This article talks about a study done in Maryland about how it has changed its laws to now put interlocks into the cars of those with a first time offense of drunk driving. This study shows how the law has decreased the amount of car crashes and fatalities that involve a drunk driver. This article also includes a brief history on what interlocks are and how they are used. This article provides me with a possible solution to the drunk driving problem. The solution is to put interlocks into cars of drunk drivers, even if it is only their first offense. I know that this source is credible because it comes from a credible newspaper and it
…show more content…
Also, the information on this page is very recent, showing its relevance to the topic. From this source, I can use a lot of the facts and statistics about drinking and driving. I can also use how alcohol puts you in an impaired state, that is not safe to drive in.
“Jacqui’s Story.” Faces of Drunk Driving, http://www.facesofdrunkdriving.com/. Accessed 20 May 2017.
This source recounts a story of one person that was affected greatly by an accident that involved a drunk driver. This girl’s life was never the same afterwards. The accident included Jacqui and friend who were driving home when another person was driving home as well, but this person was drinking and caused the accident. This comes from a credible source because it specializes in providing people with stories about those whose lives have been changed forever from a drinking and driving accident. From this source I can get personal stories that will show how this is a real problem that has real impacts on people’s lives.
Richmond, Tom. “Wisconsin Lawmakers Reignite Fight Against Drunken Driving.” Green Bay New Chronicle, 3 Feb 2017,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The most effective way to prevent drunk driving is to put ignition interlocks in cars. Ignition interlocks are used in some states when people get tickets for drunk driving. An alcohol ignition interlock is a breath-test device that is connected to the vehicle’s ignition. The vehicle will not start until the driver blows into the interlock and has a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) below usually .02(“All about”). This should be put into all new cars and anyone who has gotten pulled over for drunk driving.…

    • 187 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Another one. A lone phone call in the early hours of the morning. An unsuspecting mother 's life of about to change and possibly collapse at the news she is about to receive. The woman at the other end apologizes before she says another word.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking and driving Millions of people worldwide do it. Many people say “ I got home safely, and no one was hurt”. Just because you made it home safely does not mean that you made the right decision. When putting those keys in the ignition and driving away intoxicated you are not only putting yourself at risk, but you are risking the lives of all you come across while driving. Alcohol affects you in so many ways that it changes your judgement, eyesight, as well as driving skills to drive home safely.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Drinking Age Benefits

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Drunk driving is one of the main contributors to alcohol fatalities each year and something needs to be done to prevent it. On average, 17,000 people die each year from drunk driving related incidents, most of which are young adults. In 2010, the highest drunk driving rates were found to be people between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five years old (23.4%) and with eighteen to twenty-year olds second (15.1%) (Nagin, 2012). After the age of twenty-five, the drunk driving rates decrease significantly which makes the age minimum of twenty-five ideal to prevent this from happening.…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Heavy Episodic Driving

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Studies made in the State of Texas have reported an increasing rate of heavy episodic drinking and driving under the influence of alcohol-related problems. However, this topic is not relevant to many of the Texas citizens. To get a handle on this increasing problem, the Texas Department of Transportation provided the different penalties a drunk driver will face including, what contributes to how a person’s body handles alcohol. State-specific facts, strategies, and advisement on how to reduce or prevent drunk driving are outlined on this research. Factors discussed as contributing to drunk driving are Blood Alcohol Concentration levels, socioeconomic category and level of education.…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Driving While Impaired

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages

    This disturbs how the brain functions normally, “When alcohol is consumed, many of the skills that safe driving requires – such as judgment, concentration, comprehension, coordination, visual acuity, and reaction time – become impaired” ("Driving While Impaired -- Alcohol and Drugs”). Alcohol disturbs a person who is drunk, causing malfunctions that interrupt the way the brain normally works ("Driving While Impaired -- Alcohol and Drugs). Loss of concentration is a factor that accompanies alcohol consumption. When driving, concentration is key to ensure safety for not only the driver but others on the road. This is due to the fact that a person is put in the position where they have to watch the road, and watch out for other drivers as well.…

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Drinking Age

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are one hundred and ninety six sovereign countries in the world today. Of these provinces fifty nine percent have the minimum legal drinking age set at eighteen or nineteen years old. The United States of America is within the six percent of the world that has the age set at twenty-one. The primary reason for the increase of modulation in the U.S. and general belief in society is that having a higher minimum legal drinking age decreases alcohol related automobile accidents.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Drunk Driving Movement

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Requiring these citizens to use these devices to start their vehicle, as well as every 15 minutes after while in the vehicle, (ABI) serves as an interest group standing firm in support of the restaurant and beverage industry. The American beverage institute is very forthcoming in their opposition, saying that the ignition interlock device would hinder citizens from enjoying alcoholic beverages at social gatherings or after hard day at work. (Maplight) another opposing view comes from the standpoint that the victim movement of drunk driving was not because of an occurrence of intoxicated driving because unfortunately that was happening long before the emergence of MADD but instead stems the feeling of loss, emptiness and injustice that needs to be resolved. (Reinarman, 1988, p. 91) “Reinarman (1988) suggest from the MADD perspective, then, the aperture of attribution for all the suffering in social cost that they claim are caused by drinking driving is constricted; only the loan deviant comes into focus.…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In 2010, nearly 10,000 people were killed due to drunk driving accidents, which accounts for close to thirty-one percent of motor vehicle fatalities in that year. When was the last time you heard anything about one’s alcohol consumption killing someone? Not frequently enough, in fact, there are an average of 115 people killed daily due to someone's choice to drink irresponsibly, but society fails to emphasize the impact drunk driving has on America. Alcohol is something seriously abused within society and the consequences that come with its maltreatment need stronger enforcement. The effects of drunk driving can do so much more than take someone’s life; it ripples throughout a community and causes havoc among hundreds of people.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever thought about how safer the road would be with no drunk drivers? Alcohol-related to crashes that lead to many Americans death from the age 16 to 24. The use of alcohol has a high risk of having problems, for example becoming addicted to alcohol, ending someone’s life including yours, and also ending in a terrible place. Drinking and Driving is dangerous, because not only does it cost your life, but also the lives of innocent people. Becoming an addicted to alcohol, makes you unconscious of your actions.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Legal Drinking Age

    • 1064 Words
    • 4 Pages

    (Kaigang, Simons-Morton, and Hingson). When someone drinks it can impair their ability to function. If they consume enough, they would not be able to see clearly, walking patterns will change, and most importantly if they were drinking that puts them and others on the road in danger. In 2008, 31% of young drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking (Kaigang, Simons-Morton, and Hingson). Underage drinking as caused fatal car crashes leaving families without loved ones.…

    • 1064 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drunk driving is an enormously important public social and safety issue. Indeed, it is considered the nations’ most frequently committed violent crime. And as most teens and adolescents are neither mature nor responsible enough yet, the risk of motor vehicle crashes is very high among 16-19-year-olds drivers compared to drivers age 21 and older. Many studies prove that driving while drunk is more commonly widespread among youngsters. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 100 of the 102 studies show that “the number of fatal traffic accidents for 18- to 20-year-olds decreased by 13% and saved approximately 27,052 lives from 1975-2008” (Gate).…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alcohol impairment is the primary factor in traffic fatalities. In the United States, where drunk driving is among the most common types of arrest made by police, the number of alcohol-related crash deaths is roughly the same as the number of homicides. In addition, vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in young people ages 15 to 20; many of these are alcohol-related”(Center for Problem). Not all of the accidents are tied into drinking and driving, some of the traffic accidents that have caused death in the past, mainly for teenagers, were speed racing, speeding, hit-and-run crashes, aggressive driving, or even driving with a revoked or suspended license. Here are some examples of what harm drinking and drinking could cause, anything from car crashes too getting a very pricey ticket: “drivers, passengers, and pedestrians are killed and injured.…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Reckless Driving

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I understood the consequences of driving impaired before I had operated a vehicle for the first time. Today, grown adults with careers still do not take into consideration the consequences of their sporadic reckless behavior involving alcohol. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly thirty people are buried each day due to drunk driving. That’s almost eleven-thousand lives that are taken each year due to poor choices behind the wheel. Too many adults as well as teens, are taking advantage of roaming the roads while intoxicated.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Action needs to be taken about drunk drivers in America. Because of all of the intoxicated people getting behind the wheel, thousands of people end up losing their lives a year; therefore, the State should suspend drunk driver’s license. Not only can this teach them a valuable lesson, it can save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in damages. People only have one life, so it is the most precious thing in this world. To keep the roads and people safe, drunk drivers need a more severe punishment.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays