Drunk driving should be legal.
The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.
After not so many votes...
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"Drunk" means "having a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above." "Driving" means "the control and operation of a motor vehicle." "Be," "should," and "legal" have their ordinary meaning. Basically, this debate is about the DUI laws in most states. The criminal offense is "driving while you have a blood-alcohol level of .08 or greater, regardless of whether the alcohol has had any effect on you."
This is a normative topic, so burdens of persuasion are equal on both sides. Starting points are equal. Pro must show that drunk driving should be legal. Con must show the opposite.
- First, individuals must consume enough alcohol to reach a BAC of 0.08 or higher. We measure BAC based on the body mass of any individual using multiple quantitative techniques. Then, the drunk individual must take a driving test focused on basic hand-eye coordination, reaction time, and the ability to comprehend severe driving conditions, to determine if the individual is capable of safely driving drunk. The test includes a computerized simulation before any actual driving, and drunk individuals are held to a much higher standard than ordinary driving tests. If the individual passes the test, they earn a drunk driving license.
DUI laws don't serve any interest of our criminal justice system
(this continues in the next 2 points to be that it not only doesn't encourage rehabilitation but that it furthermore
When you can take a courseYou can be offered a rehabilitation course to reduce your driving ban if:
- you’re found guilty of a drink-drive offence
- your ban is for 12 months or more
You have to pay to take the course. It can cost up to £250.Reducing the length of your banYour ban will be reduced if you complete the course within a certain time. The ban is usually reduced by a quarter.Deciding to take a courseYou have to decide in court if you want to take a course or not. You cannot change your mind later.
DUI PenaltiesDriving under the influence, or DUI, means that you are operating a vehicle while you’re impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. In most cases, a DUI is considered a misdemeanor and falls under state law. Penalties for driving under the influence vary, but in most states, drivers who are convicted of a DUI:
- May have their license suspended or revoked
- May have a commercial license suspended
- May be required to install an ignition interlock device on their car, which keeps the car from starting if the driver fails a breathalyzer test
- May have the DUI noted on their driving record
- May be required to pay a large fine
- May be sentenced to time in jail
- May be sentenced to time in prison if the offense involved injury or homicide
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, all 50 states have laws that make it a crime to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) above a certain limit. At the present time, the standard limit in the US is a BAC of 0.08 for drivers age 21 or older. A DUI may either be determined by the results of a breath test or a blood test or by the behavior of an impaired driver.Many states have drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs that give first-time drunk drivers a chance to get treatment for substance abuse before they face the full penalties for a DUI. Diversion programs aren’t an option for everyone who’s charged with a DUI, but they can be a lifeline for eligible drivers who need help with a serious alcohol or drug problem.
About 30 percent of deaths in car crashes occur when one or more drivers has a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher -- the legal definition of driving while impaired in the United States, the investigators explained. An additional 20 percent of deaths involve alcohol among those whose blood alcohol level is below the legal limit.
"Given the risks involved with alcohol use, strengthening alcohol control policies could help prevent many crash deaths, including the 40 percent of deaths that affect victims who are not themselves driving while intoxicated," said lead study author Dr. Timothy Naimi. He's a physician at the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center.
For the study, Naimi and his colleagues used data on crash deaths from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. In addition, state alcohol policies were gathered using the Alcohol Policy Scale, a tool developed at the center that analyzes an alcohol policy environment based on 29 alcohol control policies.The investigators found that in states with more restrictive alcohol policies, the likelihood of alcohol-related crash deaths decreased.
For example, a 1 percent increase in restrictive policies led to a 1 percent drop in the likelihood that a crash was alcohol-related. Across all states, a 10 percent increase in the restrictiveness of policies would translate into about 800 fewer deaths annually, Naimi's team reported.
Moreover, stronger policies also reduced deaths in crashes that involved drivers whose blood alcohol level was below the legal limit.
"Although not reflected in our current laws, the risk of crashes starts to increase at blood alcohol levels well below 0.08 percent, so stronger policies offer a way to reduce those deaths as well," Naimi said in a medical center news release.
- Impairment is not reliant upon the type of alcohol consumed, rather the number of drinks over a certain period of time.[1]
- On average, a drunk driver will drive 80 times under the influence before their first arrest.[2]
- Every 51 minutes in America, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash. That equates to 27 people every day. Offer to be your parents’ designated driver to ensure that everybody gets home safe. Sign up for Parents Ride Shotty.[3]
- For drivers under 21, the U.S. has a No Tolerance policy that does not allow any alcohol to be in the blood system while behind the wheel. The consequences could include expensive fines, loss of license or jail.[4]
- Someone is injured in a drunk driving incident every 120 seconds.[5]
- In 2011, 9,878 people were victims of drunk drivers.[6]
- Between 50 to 75% of the people who have had their licenses revoked due to driving under the influence drive illegally without their license.[7]
- Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, and roughly 1/3 of these accidents involve alcohol or another substance.[8]
- Since the early 1980s, alcohol-related traffic deaths per population have been cut in half with the greatest proportional declines among persons 16-20 years old.[9]
- In 2010, of the fatalities among children ages 14 and younger, 17 percent occurred in alcohol impaired-driving crashes.[10]
- Kids and teens who get involved with alcohol at a young age are 7 times more likely to be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lives.[11]
the very things Pro says are lacking in DUI laws are going to be totally and utterly absent if the laws are taken away (which, if they were/are lacking, only mean we need amendments for better enforcement structure and law design).
- Pro still wants retribution for the drunk drivers via reckless driving penalties, despite preaching against the very philosophy on which retributive justice is based.
- Pro insists that not enough is being done to successfully curtail drunk drivers and implies therefore that more must be done.
Alcohol’s sedative effects impair a driver’s decision-making skills and coordination. An impaired driver lacks the ability to quickly and decisively avoid an accident or even perform routine driving maneuvers. Drunk drivers endanger themselves and everyone on the road, increasing the risk of automobile crashes and deaths.
Approximately 112 million adults reported drinking and driving in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2009, almost 11,000 people died in car accidents involving at least one person whose blood-alcohol limit was above 0.08 percent, also according to the CDC. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving website reports that 27 people die each day because of drunk driving. Four out of every five drunk drivers are men, and 32 percent of all drunk driving incidents involve a male between the ages of 21 and 34.Car accidents are the primary danger associated with drinking and driving. Consuming too much alcohol impairs your ability to use your common sense and think long-term. Having too much to drink also slows your reaction time and makes it difficult for your brain to process information. When all of these factors come into play, it makes for one dangerous and distracted driver. When you aren't able to pay attention to the cars around you, you're more likely to get into a car accident. When your reaction times are slower because of alcohol, you might not hit the brakes soon enough, which can cause serious accidents.When you get behind the wheel after having too much to drink, you're not only putting your own life in danger, but you're jeopardizing the safety of everyone else on the road, too. Many drunk drivers get into one-car accidents and seriously injure or kill themselves. In 22.3 percent of all car accidents causing driver death, the driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more, according to U.S. Census Bureau. In many other cases, they collide with other motorists, often seriously injuring or killing them. According to the "Journal of Political Economy," 53.2 percent of fatal car accidents involved one drunk driver and one sober driver.
Looks like there is nothing here yet
If you drive drunk and you kill someone, you should get tried as a murderer. If you destroy their car, you should be tried as a thief.
There is a debate in voting https://www.debateart.com/debates/3049-drunk-driving-should-be-legal between Pro and myself on the identical topic which was launched on 5/10. So far, a no-vote tie, but there's still 20+ days left to vote. Consider this a bump.
Don't care about strangers entering school with guns, care if when they shoot!
Was there another debate on this topic I should be looking for? This one looks to have only just started.
Very good first argument.
That was quick.