Someone is killed every 30 seconds and nonfatally injured every two minutes due to an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash. Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. For more than a decade, highway deaths involving alcohol have hovered at about 17,000 annually nationwide. In 2003, 354 alcohol-related traffic deaths occurred in NC alone. While it may just be numbers for some, these statistics are very real and alarming. Unfortunately it is still a major problem, and I think there are several initiatives that can be taken to lower the number of accidents and highway deaths in which alcohol is involved. The first is to raise awareness among teenagers because it is the drug most abused by teens and they need to realize the seriousness of drinking and driving before they allow it to become part of their lifestyle. Secondly, I think there should be harsher consequences for people who are driving drunk, and that the legal level of blood alcohol should be lowered.

We see the commercials, we hear about it on the news, and we talk about it in health class, but do teenagers really realize the seriousness of drinking? When I think back to when I was a student in driver's education class, I can remember watching a video of a fatal crash caused by a drunk driver, but then the tape stopped and we continued with our next lesson on road signs. There were even a few chuckles during the video as we all sat and watched the 70's version of a staged car crash. The issue on drunk driving is being addressed, but I believe that it needs more attention and it needs to be more effective.

I've always been bothered by the fact that adults tell teenagers to "not drink and drive." It leaves me wondering if people really know what alcohol can do to a person's body. Instead of adults telling teenagers to "not drink and drive," they need to be telling them to "not drink." If they aren't drinking, they won't be driving drunk. Not to mention, drinking is illegal for a teenager. Statistics speak very loud when it comes to realizing the consequences of drinking and driving; but teenagers have heard the statistics, it's time they hear the internal affects of alcohol on their body. The information should be presented during health class, driver's education, and even in their school classrooms, but it must be presented in a way that will make a difference and make teenagers think twice about taking a sip of alcohol.

One of the reasons drivers are impaired under the influence of alcohol is because alcohol profoundly affects person's motor skills. Alcohol is a depressant which slows down or depresses the brain, altering a person's ability to think, speak, and see things as they really are. This makes a driver more impaired, alters his judgment, and he loses his ability to control his driving, braking and steering. People also need to realize that there is no body cell resistant to alcohol. It can go anywhere in the body. The brain is one of the most dangerous areas alcohol affects, and it usually reaches the brain within 90 seconds of consumption. Once alcohol has reached the brain, it causes a number of problems including distorting one's judgment, coordination, and perception. It can also cause memory blackouts, and if the alcohol reaches the inner core, the person's heart rate drops, and breathing ceases, resulting in death. Unfortunately, when a person drinks, he is not only damaging his own body and putting himself in danger, but everyone around that person is in danger as well.

Another effective strategy that I believe would make teenagers more aware of the seriousness of drinking and driving is to actually give teenagers the opportunity to experience what driving drunk is really like. Some driver's education classes have used an item called the "drunk goggles." My class never used these goggles, but I think that it is important that teens go through the motions of experiencing what being drunk is really about. Each person should have to wear the goggles that skew their vision, get into a car or golf cart, and drive through an obstacle course. Then, they have to get out of the car, walk and interact with other people. Hopefully, teenagers will understand that when they are drunk, they have no control over themselves and they are endangering themselves and others. It should be a requirement for every person to experience this before they receive a driver's permit.

In North Carolina, 0.08 is the legal level of blood alcohol and if a person is driving with a level in excess, they are considered "driving while impaired." However, I think that the legal level should be lowered for several reasons. To the average 150 pound person, metabolizing 0.5 ounces of alcohol per house, if the blood alcohol level is 0.02, a person can have minor mood changes. At 0.06 BAC, there is lowered inhibition, impaired judgment, and decreased rational decision-making abilities. Finally, a BAC of 0.08 makes a person legally drunk, deteriorating reaction time and control. Even though every person is different and reacts to alcohol differently, it is obvious that alcohol affects the body with just a small amount of alcohol. The more alcohol consumed, the more it affects the body in a negative way. Consequences should be harsher as well. When a person is being tried for a DWI charge in North Carolina, the charge is based on the chemical tests. How the individual was driving, how he appeared, and how well or poorly he did on field sobriety test are not considered. In my opinion, I think that it is ridiculous that the primary issue involves blood alcohol level. If a person is driving reckless, they are putting themselves and many other people in danger, and they may have less that a 0.08 blood alcohol level; but, the fact is, they are putting lives on the line. I also think that an automatic license revocation would decrease drunk driving dramatically.

It is disappointing to know that thirty percent of college failure is related to alcohol. It saddens me to think that alcohol is involved in one in every three suicides and that the abuse of alcohol is present in 70% of all murders and other violent crimes. Unfortunately, it is true. However, if teenagers and others are made more aware of the seriousness of drinking and driving and if offenders are truly held responsible for their offense, I believe that the number of accidents and highway deaths will decrease. Education is the key to bringing about this result.