Effective Strategies Engineered to Prevent DUI

Driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs remains a global problem that results in thousands of arrests every year, but also tens of thousands of vehicular accidents that can cause severe injury and even death. Yet stopping DUI is as simple as not getting behind the wheel of your car or truck once you’ve ingested alcohol. If the general populace is going to continue to ignore the statistics and drive while under the influence anyway, it’s up to governments to enact laws that will sanction those people who endanger others while navigating the world’s roads and highways.

Says the law offices of Aaron M. Black, DUI attorney, new laws are always being enacted to prevent DUI, such as the one recently passed in Arizona called ARS 28-1381. This statute is said to be crucial in the state’s ongoing efforts to prevent impaired driving and to guarantee some semblance of road safety by detailing the legal conditions under which a suspect can be charged with a DUI and what penalties will apply.

While such statutes are a step in the right direction, they affect only small portions of the global population. The point of stopping the DUI epidemic, of course, is to prevent it from happening in the first place. In short, don’t drink and drive.

However, according to a recent report by the CDC, it’s imperative that government decision-makers and community partners come together to identify gaps and pinpoint the most effective strategies available to significantly reduce alcohol-impaired driving.

Here are some of the strategies presently being employed the world over.

Lowering Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits

Generally speaking, alcohol-impaired driving laws are engineered to make it illegal to get behind the wheel with a BAC that’s at or above a specified level. The legal level can depend on the state, district, or even the country an individual is driving in. On a global level, most countries that boast a high income have established BAC mandates at 0.05g/dL or lower. It’s said that 12 of these laws are proving effective for the reduction of vehicular crashes that involve alcohol-impaired drivers and the deaths that can result from these car wrecks.

The laws are established as a deterrent to reduce alcohol-impaired driving, even among those who are said to be at the highest risk of driving while impaired. The state of Utah, in the U.S., recently implemented a 0.05g/dL BAC law. Almost immediately, the law resulted in a close to 20 percent reduction in the death rate associated with DUI crashes. The law has also been linked to lower alcohol-related crashes in general. Still, DUIs persist, and so do crashes, many of them fatal.

More Policies and Laws

The introduction of Zero Tolerance laws is said to have made it illegal for people under 21 to drive with any amount of alcohol in their bloodstream. The Zero Tolerance laws along with the laws that prohibit underage drinking have been set in stone in most of the U.S. and many other countries world-wide. Because of them, it’s estimated that tens of thousands of lives have been saved. Young lives. This is why maintaining these laws is said to be of critical importance.

Also, policies created on local levels that make alcoholic beverages less accessible, affordable, and available are proving effective for drinking and driving. Naturally, they also help to prevent DUIs. Examples of these laws are alcohol “sin” taxes and the regulation of alcohol outlet density. This is said to reduce the number of retailers that can legally sell alcohol in certain locations.

Publicly Announced Sobriety Checkpoints

According to the CDC, publicized sobriety checkpoints are designed to allow law enforcement professionals to stop vehicles at prearranged, highly visible locations. Their sole purpose is to check drivers for alcohol and/or illicit drug impairment.

It’s legal for law officers to stop all vehicles or a certain number of vehicles of their choosing. It’s imperative that sobriety checkpoints are widely publicized on local television news broadcasts and on social media. They should be conducted regularly and consistently to create the greatest impact.

High-visibility Law Enforcement Saturation Patrols

Said to consist of a large amount of law enforcement professionals consisting of local police and state police who work together to patrol specific areas of roadway, high-visibility saturation patrols have proven effective in minimizing incidents at locations where alcohol-impaired drivers tend to crash all too often. Like sobriety checkpoints, it’s important that these patrols are well publicized via multi-media blitzes.

Ignition Interlock Systems

Considered controversial among those who value the sanctity of human civil rights, ignition interlocks are being installed in the vehicles of individuals who’ve been arrested for DUI. This includes first-time offenders. The ignition interlock smart system is engineered to measure the amount of alcohol on a driver’s breath prior to his or her starting a vehicle.

The purpose of the ignition interlock system is to keep vehicles from starting if the driver blows a BAC above a specific level, which is generally calculated at 0.02 g/dL. While some DUI offenders have protested by claiming the interlock systems violate their civil rights, they have nonetheless proven highly effective at preventing repeat DUI offenses once installed. Combining alcohol abuse treatment and alcohol disorder assessment into the interlock programs once they are able to be removed from the vehicle is said to have resulted in a dramatic decrease in repeat offenders.

Drinking and driving is not only a dangerous gamble, but it can result in serious accidents. These accidents can involve terrible injuries and even death. The driver of a vehicle who is arrested for a DUI case that has resulted in innocent deaths will forever be changed. Life for the individual will be forever shrouded by a dark veil, knowing he needlessly took the life of an innocent person or persons.

When it comes to preventing DUI, the basic principle is a simple but effective one. Don’t drink and drive. The life of the driver and the lives of others just might depend on it.