Getting high-risk drunk drivers off the road

Yet again the statistics have shown us the ugly truth.  Those drivers who choose to get behind the wheel of a car after having had too much to drink – for the second, third, or more times – are more likely to kill themselves or somebody else in a fatal car crash.  Not only that, but drivers who may have no prior convictions but somehow think it is okay to drive with a BAC over 0.15 are also more likely to kill themselves or somebody else in an accident.

While alcohol-related traffic deaths may be down overall in the United States according to recent numbers from the NHTSA, the number of deaths from these so-called “high-risk” drivers has gone up.  This small subset of problem drivers seems impervious to increased sobriety checkpoints, advertising campaigns directed against DUI / DWI, and tightened drunk driving laws.  What makes these drivers think they are above and beyond the law?

The only option seems to target this group and crack down – hard.  You can read more about the recent NHTSA report and ideas from MADD for cutting down on the number of high-risk drivers on the road in our law library article “The Problem of High-Risk Drunk Drivers in Fatal Crashes”.  You can also read about how Virginia is cracking down on drunk driving in our article “Virginia to Crack Down on Drunk Driving” and the impact of lowering the teen drinking age in “How Would Lowering the Drinking Age Affect Teen Drivers?”