Running head: DRUNK DRIVING 1

Drunk Driving: Literature Review

Carlos Alberto ar!ue" Del #o"o
Universit$ o% &e'as at (l #aso
DRUNK DRIVING )
Abstra*t
In this literature review the seriousness and out*o+es o% drunk driving *ases will be
dis*ussed %ro+ a ,ersonal and i+,ersonal wa$- Interviews to ,eo,le that were in a
drunk driving a**ident were interviewed in order get a better and +ore *o+,lete
des*ri,tion o% what a drunk driving a**ident is and what the out*o+es o% the+ *an be-
In so+e *ases the o%%enders are re,eated o%%enders that have been *onvi*ted or
te+,oraril$ have their driver.s li*ense sus,ended- &he i+,a*t o% wealth on the
out*o+e o% the *onvi*tions is also e',lained-
Drunk Driving: Literature Review
DRUNK DRIVING /
In this Literature review it will be set out i% drunk driving is +ostl$ done b$
the sa+e kind o% ,eo,le- I% drunk drivers are stereot$,ed and how the range o% ,eo,le
that *an *o++it this *ri+e is +ore diverse than what one thinks a*tuall$ is- It is *lear
that so*iet$ stereot$,es what drunk drivers and +akes a li+it to what a drunk driver
*an be- 0ut onl$ those with ,ersonal e',erien*e1 either vi*ti+s or drunk drivers
the+selves *an e',lain the situation %irst hand- &he out*o+e o% drunk driving *ases
will be e',lained and how the out*o+e %or ever$one is not alwa$s the sa+e-
1- 2hat ,er*entages o% drunk drivers are re,eated o%%enders3
)- 2hat ,er*entages o% drunk drivers get *onvi*ted3
/- Do $ou think that e*ono+i* status a%%e*ts the out*o+e o% drunk driving *ases3
4- Do $ou believe the age o% drunk drivers is relevant3

What percentages of drunk drivers are repeated offenders?
&he website ADD 5others Against Drunk Driving6 has a se*tion that
%o*uses on rando+ statisti*s that are usuall$ ver$ i+,a*ting to one- 7o+e o% these
rando+ %a*ts give s,e*i%i* ,er*entages and statisti*s on +an$ things1 all being related
to drunk driving- &he ,er*entage o% +ales driving a vehi*le while boing drunk is
higher than the ,er*entage o% %e+ales that being 18-19 vs- :-;9 5ADD1 )<1/6-
A**ording to ADD it is +ore *o++on that +ale drivers are the ones to be
into'i*ated while driving and are the ones to be involved in a *ar a**ident +ore o%ten-
&he rate o% drunk driving *ases is highest a+ong )1 to )8 $ear olds this is about
)/-49 5ADD1 )<1/6- &his age grou, *onsists +ostl$ o% *ollege students- College
DRUNK DRIVING 4
students are usuall$ the ones to ,art$ and *onsu+e al*oholi* drinks the +ost- &he
average ,erson +etaboli"es al*ohol at the rate o% about one drink ,er hour 5ADD1
)<1/6- In%iltrating al*ohol in the blood s$ste+1 getting drunk- 2hen *onsu+ing
al*ohol1 the *onsu+er usuall$ does not %eel as drunk as the$ reall$ are- &hat is one o%
the +an$ reasons wh$ so +an$ a**idents ha,,en1 be*ause not all drunk drivers are
aware o% how drunk the$ a*tuall$ are and o% what the situation +a$ turn out to- ost
drinkers %eel that the$ are in *ontrol1 until an une',e*ted a**ident ha,,ens 5ADD1
)<1/6- &he state o% being i+,aired is not deter+ined b$ the t$,e o% drink that is
*onsu+ed but rather b$ the a+ount o% al*ohol that is being drunk over a ,eriod o%
ti+e a**ording to ADD- A standard drink is de%ined as 1) oun*es o% beer1 8 oun*es
o% wine1 or 1-8 oun*es o% distilled s,irits1 whi*h *ontain the sa+e a+ount o% al*ohol
5ADD1 )<1/6- 7o+e ,eo,le believe that drinking a little will *ause no e%%e*t on
the+- &he$ believe that their *ondition will not *hange i% the$ =ust *onsu+e =ust a
little- 0ut even s+all a+ounts o% al*ohol *an alter the state o% +ind that one has and
*an i+,a*t the regular a*tivities o% onesel% 5ADD1 )<1/6- A**ording to ADD it is
believed that when so+eone begins to have a new habit1 it is ver$ di%%i*ult %or the
,erson to get rid o% it on*e it has begun- About one>third o% all drivers arrested or
*onvi*ted o% drunk driving are re,eated o%%enders- 5ADD1 )<1/6
What percentages of drunk drivers get convicted?
In +an$ *ases o% drunk driving a**idents1 =ust a s+all ,ortion is a*tuall$
*aught- In +ost *ases the drunk drivers will run>o%% without a sign- (ven when an
DRUNK DRIVING 8
a**ident is %atal1 the drunk drivers take o%% and es*a,e the situation as soon as ,ossible
in order to not get *aught b$ the authorities and not get in trouble- 0ut in so+e *ases
the drunk drivers that take o%% %ro+ an a**ident1 the$ are ,ursued and *aught in order
to take res,onsibilit$ %or their a*tions a**ording to the #ost+an a website dedi*ated to
in%or+ about drunk driving- About 8< to :< ,er*ent o% *onvi*ted drunk drivers
*ontinue to drive on a sus,ended driver.s li*ense 5#otsda+1 )<1/6- (ven a%ter being
*onvi*ted o% a *ri+e1 drunk drivers are still driving- &hat is also one o% the reasons
wh$ a *onvi*ted driver is +ost likel$ to be a re,eated o%%ender 5G?7A1 )<1/6- Not
onl$ are not all drunk driver *onvi*ted o% their *ri+e but +ore than hal% o% the ones
that are *onvi*ted *ontinue to drive as i% nothing had ever ha,,ened be%ore and b$ not
having those drunk drivers %ollow the law the$ are e',osed to *o++it +ore *ri+es b$
*reating +ore a**idents that will ,robabl$ *ause in=uries or even death o% inno*ent
,eo,le this is a**ording to G?7A 5@Governor.s ?ighwa$ 7a%et$ Argani"ationB6- Not
onl$ are the$ not obe$ing what was senten*ed to the+ b$ *ourt but the$ are also
*ontinuing to *ause +ore a**idents- As +ost drunk drivers are re,eated o%%enders1
vi*ti+s are ,reo**u,ied and angr$ o% the e%%e*t o% the *onvi*tion on the drunk driver-
5#otsda+1 )<1/6
Do you think that economic status affects the outcome of drunk driving cases?
In order to be able to answer this !uestion I *ondu*ted an interview with so+e
/ ,eo,le that have been related in drunk driving a**idents- &wo o% these ,eo,le were
drunk drivers and the other one was a vi*ti+ o% a drunk driving traged$- As re!uested
b$ these ,eo,le I will not give their na+es- 7o I will *all Ale' and 0ea and Ce*ilia
that is a vi*ti+- I was able to *onta*t the+ be*ause I know the owner o% the AA
DRUNK DRIVING C
5Anon$+ous Al*oholi*s6 rehab *enter that the drunk drivers are in- &he na+e o% the
rehab *enter is A-N-D-A-A-R A-C- - Drunk driver Ale' told +e that on A*tober /1 o%
)<11 he *rashed his *ar while being into'i*ated- ?e *rashed his tru*k against a house-
It was a%ter a ?alloween ,art$ that he got into his tru*k and *rashed 5,ersonal
*o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- &he house he *rashed into is lo*ated ne't to the
Ca+,estre 5Countr$ Club6 in Ciudad Duare" Ale' stated- &he house is lo*ated a%ter a
s+all bridge that goes over a s+all *anal that goes through the gol% *ourse o% the
*ountr$ *lub- &he residents o% the house were not ho+e b$ lu*k 5,ersonal
*o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- &he tru*k *o+,letel$ destro$ed the %ront $ard and
gate- I was able to break so+e windows and even so+e o% the stru*ture o% the house
%ell down he said- It was i+,ossible %or hi+ es*a,e this situationE he e',lains that he
%ainted due to the i+,a*t o% the *rash- ?e does not re+e+ber the *rash due to the state
he was in and also due to the i+,a*t- 2hen he woke u, he was at a hos,ital and was
surrounded b$ ,eo,le he knew 5,eo,le %ro+ the ,art$6 and %a+il$- ?e had broken his
wrist but re*overed %ast- Ale' twas then told b$ the do*tors that he had drunken while
driving the vehi*le and that the authorities will be noti%ied- ?e e',lains that the
%a+il$ that owns the house is a wealth$1 ,ower%ul and in%luential %a+il$ in the *it$-
?e states that even though that was a on*e in a li%e ti+e e',erien*e and that he does
not drink and drive o%ten and did not be%ore that1 he was %or*ed b$ e'i*an *ourt to
attend a rehab *enter %or / +onths and to go to +eeting ever$ week and *he*k in the
*enter ever$ %irst 7aturda$ o% ever$ +onth- ?e states that all the lawsuits against hi+
%ro+ the owners o% the house reall$ a%%e*ted his %a+il$.s e*ono+i* status- &he owners
o% the house de+anded +an$ things1 whi*h the$ got due to their wealth1 ,ower and
DRUNK DRIVING :
in%luen*esE states Ale'- ?e believes that he has been ,unished +ore than what he
should have been1 but does not *o+,lain be*ause he knows he dissevers this and is
learning-
0ea *aused a tra%%i* a**ident due to drunk driving- 7he was in her 7UV with a
%riend driving ho+e a%ter the o,ening ,art$ o% the newest night*lub in Duare"
5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- 7he hit ) ,eo,le that were walking in the
sidewalk 5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- 7he e',lains that she was so in
sho*k that she did not even sto, to see the ,eo,le she had =ust hit1 until the ne't da$ in
the a%ternoon the ,oli*e showed u, at her %ront door asking !uestions to her ,arents-
(ventuall$ the 7UV was re*ogni"ed1 +at*hing the des*ri,tion that so+e witnesses
gave to the authorities 5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- 7he was arrested even
though she had not $et been *onvi*ted- A**ording to 0ea there is a di%%eren*e in
e'i*an and A+eri*an law1 in the United 7tates one *annot be arrested until ,roven
guilt$ and in e'i*o one *annot be set %ree until ,roven inno*ent- (ven though the
eviden*e that the e'i*an ,oli*e had was not so *on*rete it was still enough to arrest
her- 7he s,ent one night in =ail and her ,arents had to ,a$ a bail- 7he had to *o+,lete
1<< hours o% *o++unit$ servi*e- &his e',erien*e has *hanged her li%e %orever and
does not *o+,lain about her ,unish+ent- &he vi*ti+s. law sued her and she had to do
+ore *o++unit$ servi*e- 5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146 aking a *hange in
her li%e and reali"e what she had done- &he vi*ti+s were severel$ hurt and were
hos,itali"ed %or ) +onths- All e',enses were ,aid b$ 0ea and a%%e*ted her %inan*ial
status *ausing her +an$ ,roble+s with her e',enses and li%est$le- 0ea is a so*ialite in
Duare"- ?er re,utation was in the borderline o% *olla,se and she was now *onsidered
DRUNK DRIVING F
an al*oholi* b$ the so*iet$ in Duare" she states- &he a**ident was the sub=e*t o% the
season and ever$where she went she was stared at1 she states- Due to the wealth o%
0ea.s %a+il$ she was able to dodge +an$ o% the long ,ro*esses o% her *onvi*tion
5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- 7he is ha,,$ that she did not have +an$
,roble+s with her *ase- 7he knows that her ,arent.s wealth had to do a lot with the
easiness o% her ,ro*ess and also got to know how *orru,t the authorities *an be-
Ce*$ was a vi*ti+ o% a drunk driving a**ident- 7he was getting o%% her
*ar at a %riends house %or an a%ter ,art$ when a tall 7UV drove reall$ %ast ne't to the+
5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- &he side +irror o% the 7UV hit her on the
head- A**ording to Ce*$ she i++ediatel$ %ainted and %ell to the ground- 7he was
taken to the hos,ital b$ her %riends and hos,itali"ed to *he*k her- &he %a+il$ arrived
to the hos,ital- 7he had a brain *on*ussion and was treated %or one week- 7he was in
an indu*ed *o+a %or / da$s 5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- A**ording to
Ce*$ the investigations %or the drivers were in ,ro*ess but no one was ever
dis*overed- ?er %ull re*over$ was a*hieved with +an$ thera,ies and treat+ents that
were able to get her to her regular state- ?er ,arents invested a lot o% +one$ on the
investigations1 even though there were a lot o% witnesses in the +o+ent o% the
a**ident nothing was ever dis*overed- 0ut the h$,othesis o% the drivers being drunk
was ver$ strong due to the %a*t that the$ did not sto, and it ha,,ened a%ter an a%ter
,art$ where ever$one was drunk 5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146- (ven Ce*$
was drunk- &hese *ir*u+stan*es did not hel, the ,ro*ess o% investigation %or the
%inding o% the hit and runners 5,ersonal *o++uni*ation1 ar*h )<146-
Do you believe the age of drunk drivers is relevant?
DRUNK DRIVING ;
A**ording to re,osibilit$-org nowada$s driving is so+ething that ever$one
does- It is ne*essar$ and also so+ething that is done as a ,leasure- &eenagers are ver$
enthusiasti* when it *o+es to driving- &he$ are not ,atient and are ver$ an'ious to
drive to +ake an i+,ression with their %riends- 5Re,osibilit$-org1 )<146 (s,e*iall$
sin*e it is the stage in their lives that the$ start to be*o+e adults- 7o1 it is ver$ eas$ %or
teenagers to get a *ar and it is also ver$ eas$ %or the+ to get al*ohol and I know this
%ro+ ,ersonal e',erien*e- (ven though the$ are not o% legal age1 the$ want to a*t as
an adult and there%ore +ake bad de*isions that *an a%%e*t other ,eo,le- &he drunk
driving age has a ver$ large range it *an be %ro+ a teenager that is barel$ learning
how to drive and drink or it *an be an old +an that has been an al*oholi* all his li%e
5re,osibilit$-org1 )<146- &here%ore the age %or drunk driving is irrelevant- It is
i+,ossible to li+it the age o% drunk drivers as toda$.s li%est$le o% teenagers is ver$
liberal and with ver$ trans,arent li+its- aking eas$ %or the+ to do all this things that
are wrong and illegal- Adults have a bigger *han*e to drink and drive as the$ have the
age to legall$ drive and legall$ drink 5re,osibilit$-org1 )<146-
figure A
&he *ir*u+stan*es o% ea*h individual are di%%erent in ever$ *ase and the
DRUNK DRIVING 1<
gravit$ o% the situation *an be di%%erent in ever$ *ase- Drinking and driving is
so+ething that is ver$ wrong and should not be done b$ an$one and the laws o% both
drinking and driving should be res,e*ted and obe$ed to be a +ore *ivili"ed so*iet$
and to be able to develo, +ore edu*ated generations-
References
htt,:GGwww-+add-orgGstatisti*sG
htt,:GGwww)-,otsda+-eduGal*oholGDrinkingAndDriving-ht+lH-U")w<Cg;IdI
htt,:GGwww-ghsa-orgGht+lGstatein%oGlawsGi+,airedJlaws-ht+l
htt,:GGres,onsibilit$-orgGdrunk>driving
Kigure A htt,:GGwww-sa+hsa-govGdataG)k8GDUIarrestsGDUIarrests-ht+