Archive for August, 2010

Drunk Driving – Become a designated driver

Posted on Aug 19, 2010

Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol is extremely dangerous and a risk you are taking when you get behind the wheels of a motor vehicle and choose to drive. Drink and drive and you put yourself in danger, other passengers and everyone else around you at risk.

One Day it Will All Come Crashing Down

Maybe not today, or even tomorrow, but one day it will eventually happen. One minute you’ll be having a good ole time drinking, then the next it can all come crashing down on you before you know it. And even though most drunk drivers may make it home safely, without getting caught or causing a fatal car wreck does not change the fact that drunk driving is dangerous and should be taken seriously. And for most, not getting caught reinforces the bad attitude towards driving while intoxicated.

DUI/DWI Lasting Effects

Driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) and getting caught, being arrested and taken to jail, have a long lasting effect on your life. Some of these long lasting effects are:

The loss of your driver’s license
Loss of current job and future employment opportunities
Seizure of your motor vehicle
Higher auto insurance rates or denial of auto insurance
Your integrity will be shattered
Hefty fines which will affect your finances

Getting caught is just the tip of the iceberg, being in a fatal car crash has even more serious consequences like long-term medical problems, death and even life sentences.

Be Responsible – Assign a designated driver

But all of these long lasting effects can be prevented if you drink responsibly and if you’ve had too much to drink, get a designated driver to take you home. A designated driver can be someone who does not drink, someone who didn’t have anything to drink – someone who is sober, or you can call a taxi, or a friend or family member to pick you up and take you home safely.

Public Attitude towards Alcohol Abuse – Personal responsibility

Public attitude needs to change towards alcohol consumption and drunk driving. The nonchalant attitude we see today and making drinking and driving something normal and just a part of life is irresponsible and needs to change. Despite all the DWI laws, a change will not happen unless the general public makes decides to take responsibility for their actions and drink responsibly. The real solution to drinking and driving lies with the people. We have a personal responsibility to ourselves, for each other and every person you stop from driving while under the influence.

Some may argue that the real solution to drunk driving begins with personal responsibility, what is your opinion?

Drunk Driving – Is your child at risk?

Posted on Aug 12, 2010

Does drunk driving put your children at risk? Drunken driving is definitely a risky habit. People who drive while intoxicated are not only a risk to themselves; they are a risk to their own children. Most rational people would concede this point. Certainly everyone can agree that alcohol abuse affects children.

DWI Drivers Concern for Child Safety

Most Americans are willing to make concessions when it comes to child protection issues and this says a lot about the nation. People that participate in risky behaviors like driving while intoxicated are not considering the risk to themselves so they probably do not have your children in mind when they drink and drive. Those who abuse alcohol are on one level when it comes to self-destruction and those who go further down this path and put others in peril by driving while intoxicated just do not care about your child’s safety.

Drunk Driving In Teenagers

Another aspect of child endangerment is teenagers who drink and drive and grow up thinking this is normal behavior. Teen drunk driving statistics in US is alarming. Yes, your teenager is at risk if they drink and drive but also from others who carelessly do so. The carelessness of others has made it necessary for laws to be passed and the curtailment of some freedom in order to curb to reckless action of a few.

DWI With Children in the Car

There are those who drive drunk and do it with children in the vehicle with them. These people are not satisfied with endangering themselves and other drivers on the highways but they include there own children also.

Statistics for DWI with Children in the Vehicle

DWI statistics for people that drive drunk with kids in the vehicle with them are eye opening. Research by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) shows that over 2,000 children died in DWI related accidents from 1997 to 2002. The report says 70% of the kids who lost lives were passengers in the cars driven by drunk drivers.

Children That Die In DWI Accidents

The NHTSA (National Highway Safety Administration) says in the year 2003 traffic accidents crashes were the number one cause of fatalities in kids from the ages of 2 and 14. The same organization’s study states that in 2004 over 20 % of the kids that died in traffic accidents in the same year were involved in DWI accidents. About, 50 % of these children were riding in the vehicles with drunken drivers.

Tougher DWI Laws to Protect Children

For a long time now, groups that advocate for tougher DWI laws have been asking for laws to increase the drunk driving penalties for DWI with children in the car. A few states have focused on fighting drunk driving with kids in the vehicle and made it a priority issue. However these states are a small minority most states do not make it a priority at all.

Drunk Driving Risk to Children Addressed

In the beginning of this decade, a law was passed in Wyoming, according to which first-time DWI offenders with kids in their vehicle face up to 6 months in jail. For a second offense of DWI with children in the vehicle, one could be charged with a felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison under this law.

So is your child at risk because of drunk driving? You be the judge!

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Alcohol Abuse leads to increased suicide rates – Myth or fact?

Posted on Aug 09, 2010

Does Alcohol Abuse lead to increased suicide rates? Is it one of the major causes of suicide? The United States governmental agency that keeps track of mental health issues say that it is a fact and not a myth.

Alcohol Abuse Increases Suicide Rate Just Like In DWI

Most people do not understand the connection between alcohol abuse and suicide rates. With other issues that are connected to alcohol abuse like drunk driving, people can clearly see the connection because alcohol abusers who drive usually have a few DWI offenses on their record. People just don’t experience the connection frequently. However those in the mental health and alcohol abuse fields see the link all the time. They have had experiences that can demonstrate the between alcohol abuse and suicide rates. So this is why most people do not understand the problem like they automatically connect DWI and alcohol abuse.

Data released a governmental organization provides information about studies that have been done in the past ten years illustrates the point and calls on mental health organizations to combat both issues: alcohol abuse and suicide.

The Effects of Suicide

The study begins by focusing on the study of suicides in America. In the United States more than 30,000 people commit suicide annually. That means that every 16 minutes in the United States someone dies of suicide related causes. It also causes billions of dollars in economic loses to the country.

Mental Health Professionals are Aware of a Link between Suicide and Alcohol Abuse

Then the study talks about the issues involved in alcohol abuse that mental health professionals are aware of and those that may be unknown which affect the rates of suicide and increase this phenomenon. Since the countries chief medical officer brought attention to the problem of suicide in the late 1990s more information has been circulated to doctors and mental health professionals.

Due to cultural issues and misconceptions, it has only been recently that medical health professional have begun to focus on the problem of alcohol abuse and suicide with the issue being prevention and not post suicide attempt mental health care.

Alcohol Abuse the Second Highest Risk Factor in Suicides

The study also says that alcohol abuse is the number two risk factor for suicides in the United States. The study ends by calling for a coordinated effort between, mental health professionals and alcohol abuse counselors to help police prevent suicide attempts.

Societal Approach to Suicide Prevention

What needs to be done is to approach the entire society with a full range of issues and factors and then add alcohol abuse to other known suicide risk issues like mental illness, brain chemical factors, and environmental issues. This approach will target prevention just like other programs have focused on the prevention of drunk driving, DWI, and binge drinking in men and women. There is a needed in this country for a complete approach to reducing suicides. Society should not just rely simply on mental health professionals, but also on alcohol abuse professionals.

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