A mother of a drunk driving victim, Sharon Heit said, “In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill other, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you”. Drunk driving is a serious problem that continues to take a grand number of deaths each year.
Drunk driving is the act of starting a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Driving under the influence is a major threat to public safety and is a criminal offense in most countries due to the person’s motor skills being disabled while drunk. To determine whether or not someone is driving drunk, a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is measured. The current legal limit for drunk driving for those who are 21 years of age and older is 0.08 BAC. Some including myself feel it does not go a long way and we need tougher penalties for DUI. Some of the penalties can include higher fines, longer license suspension, and even more jail time.
Tougher DUI laws should be enacted for the following reasons. Number one, it will decrease the number of people driving under the influence, it will reduce drunk- driving tragedies such as deaths, the cost of these offenses, and the repeat of offender rate.