Drunk Driving - Is your child at risk?

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

Drunk Driving – Become a designated driver »

Drunk Driving – Is your child at risk?

August 12, 2010
Author: Chris M. Alexander

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!

Share and Enjoy: