Celebrity DWI Arrest in the News

Celebrity DWI arrest are all over the news these days and the numbers seem to be growing. Many notable celebrities, political figures, and athletes are making the news by getting behind the wheel after drinking heavily. Some of the stories are just pathetic and make you giggle but it also makes you wander; what is leading to all these celebrity DWIs?

Cynics View of What Leads to Celebrity DWI

Some have a cynical view that these celebrities are just trying to get into the news, or they are trying to get extra publicity and save their sagging careers, but is this really the case?

Are Celebrities Aware of the Risks of Drunk Driving?

Could it be that some celebrities just do not care? They could care less about the deaths and injuries that drunk drivers cause. They are too caught up in their own lives and careers and not worried about the consequences of drunk driving on the peasants that share the roads with them. Are they even aware of the risks?

Celebrities are Insulated from the Consequences Of Drunk Driving

Many are not afraid of the potential penalties like regular folks are. Have you ever heard of an actor or actresses lose a role because they had a DUI of their record? How about a singer that did not get a contract because they plowed into the back of someone’s car and killed the poor person in the road? It just does not happen. They are insulated by their agents, lawyers, managers and handlers.

Celebrities Choosing to Drink and Drive

Many do choose to drink and drive because they have done it plenty of times before and never had a problem. They just do not feel the risk like Joe Blow from the factory that pounded down to many suds and finds himself in the holding tank and he cannot make bail or afford a big time lawyer to make it all go away. Celebrities may be willing to take the risk because they don’t consider drunk driving a threat to others!

Preventing Drunk Driving after a Party

When having a party at home, you should be a responsible host and ensure that your guests drink responsibly and do not drive under the influence as it can be dangerous and lead to a DWI case. As the host of the party, you should take certain steps to make sure that they as well as others near them are safe.

While serving alcohol to your guests, you should make sure that it is consumed in moderation and they do not drive with a blood alcohol level (BAC) over the legal limit. There have been many DWI offenses with impaired driving resulting in many fatalities and injuries every year.

If you are a host, you should ensure the following:

• Food is served along with alcohol to ensure its effective absorption
• Serve more of non-alcoholic beverages as an alternative
• Have a person to monitor alcohol consumption and the quantity being served to the guests
• Request your guests to have a driver to drive them back home after a party if they have had large amount of alcohol
• Give them an option of staying at your home
• Request them to call a taxi or ask another guest to drive the drunken guest home
• Retain the keys of the guest who insist on driving after being drunk as you might also be held liable for accidents and fatalities caused by the driver. DWI laws in some states place liability on the host who served alcohol along with the driver himself.

Therefore, it is important to be well-informed about the alcohol being consumed in your party so that you can ensure the safety of your guests, drivers on the road as well as yourself from injury and liability.

The Reality behind Alcohol Related Injuries and Fatalities in Maryland

Just five years ago in Maryland, there were around 80,000 emergency room visits, over 6,000 hospital discharges, and over 600 fatalities caused by automobile related accidents. During the same time frame, the automobile-related accidents had been the number one cause of fatal injuries in youngsters aged between 5 and 14 years. Notably, alcohol appeared to be a common factor in a good percentage of all these road mishaps.

Reduction of Alcohol Related Injuries in the U.S.

Although, an increased awareness of general physical health issues has contributed in reducing the alcohol-related injuries in the U.S., a successful implementation of a set of traffic safety measures is the need of time. The simplest formula that can help reduce these numbers significantly is to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol. In the year 2005 alone, almost 17,000 folks in the United States did not survive the alcohol related traffic accidents, which is almost 40% of all the automobile traffic fatalities that had occurred across the state.

Child Fatalities Caused by Drunk Drivers

Tragically, over 50% of almost 500 young passengers under the age of 14, who were killed by alcohol related injuries in the nation during 2005, were passengers in a vehicle driven by drunk drivers.

Effect of Alcohol on Drivers

Drinking alcohol impairs drivers by reducing their judgement and concentration. It can also cause vision/sight problems during day and night. Even if someone observes the drinking level within the legal limit of .08, s/he can experience problems with:

• Muscle control
• Coordination
• Exaggerated emotions, and
• Increased drowsiness

Startling DUI Numbers in Maryland

It is estimated that during the year 1999, for each 120 miles driven in the state, someone with a blood alcohol level of at or over .08 had been driving a motor vehicle. Authorities in Maryland say that almost 8,000 accidents involving someone operating a vehicle or a pedestrian had a blood alcohol level of .01 or higher. Another estimate indicates that almost 40,000 accidents in Maryland were alcohol related. These accidents caused fatalities of over 200 persons and injured around 14,000 victims.

Concern for Reducing DUI and Alcohol Related Injuries and Fatalities in Maryland

It has been learnt already that the alcohol related injuries in Maryland can be reduced to a considerable extent by observing a set of traffic safety rules. Since such mishaps can be avoided, there is an increased concern in Maryland related to DUI and the incidents of drunk driving.