Friday, November 30, 2012
Think and Drive
By: Stephanie
Greenhough
COMS 369-L03
The reason that I am writing this article was triggered by
the relatively new 0.05 driving law in Alberta. Implemented on September 1,
2012, drivers found with a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.08 will face
an immediate 3-day license suspension and 3-day vehicle seizure. Prior to that
date, people found with a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.08 would face
a 24-hour license suspension.
The new law has subsequently worse punishments for second
and third offenders, but quite bluntly, I can’t help but think that these
supposed deterrents are not really all that that deterring. If my driving
privileges were taken away for 3 days, my life would go on just fine (not that
I would purposely disobey the law).
At the same time, I do acknowledge that some people feel the
new law is unfair. It seems to prohibit us from being able to have a pint of
beer after work or a glass of wine at a friend’s house. While the Government’s website
suggests that having one drink is still okay, some people feel too uneasy to do
so. Your blood alcohol level may vary based on a number of factors (how much
you weigh, how much you have eaten, etc.) and
many people would rather be safe than sorry. Those people deserve an
ethical pat on the back, but nonetheless, it’s unfortunate that they have to
miss out on some of the enjoyable things in life (and by that I mean one or two
drinks without worry, depending on the aforementioned factors).
So whether you are not
afraid of the new law and will continue on as if nothing has changed, or you are afraid of the new law and you’re
angry that the potential punishments have worsened, it seems that the new law
is ultimately unconstructive.
But why does this matter so much to me, someone who is
admittedly unconcerned about the law at hand? As far as I’m concerned, and I
hope a lot of you would agree, an unconstructive law is not going to change
anything. And if nothing is changed, then people are going to continue to die
at the hands of drunk drivers.
“Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among
15 to 25 year olds, and alcohol is a factor in 45% of those crashes (MADD).” As
a 22-year-old University student who works part time at a bar, this statistic is
something that crosses my mind on a daily basis. Not only am I faced with the
duty of finding alternative ways home for myself on the occasional nights that
I choose to consume alcohol, but I am also legally responsible for making sure
that intoxicated individuals find a safe ride home on the nights that I work.
Both of these responsibilities are easier said than done, and the latter case
is often out of my control.
Drunk driving is an extremely sensitive subject, of which
opinions vary on a sliding spectrum. Most people would agree that drinking and
driving is “bad,” but alcohol affects some people’s judgments worse than
others. For one reason or another, some of those people choose to drink and
drive.
I have no official expertise on the matter, but based on my
experiences I tend to believe that there are three general profiles for the way
that drivers behave when in situations where alcohol is involved:
Profile 1: The Responsible Driver
This person refuses to drink and
drive under any circumstances. He does not consume more than one alcoholic
beverage unless he has arranged an alternative way home.
Profile 2: The Accidental Driver
This person consumes more alcohol
than he anticipates, but because he did not make prior arrangements, he decides
to “risk it” and drive home anyway. The accidental driver may be convinced to
take a cab or use a designated driver’s service with his peer’s encouragement.
Profile 3: The Careless Driver
This person goes out drinking with
the intention of driving home regardless of how intoxicated he becomes. The careless
driver is nearly impossible to convince to take a cab or use a designated
driver’s service, even when facing strong encouragement to do so.
These profiles may be rather specific and perhaps over
generalized, but I think that for the most part we can all relate to one of
them.
The point that I would like to make here is that for each of
these profiles, the new 0.05 law is virtually irrelevant. The responsible
driver is already extremely cautious, the accidental driver is already over
0.08 let alone 0.05 (but willing to “risk it”), and the careless driver, as his
title suggests, simply doesn’t care!
The bar that I currently work at is about a 20 minute drive
from my house. I depart from said bar between 11 p.m.-1 a.m. several times per
week. On a related note, I have never gone through a Checkstop. Ever.
I find this fact to be incredibly unsettling. How is it
possible for me to drive home from an area highly concentrated with liquor
service several hundred times, and not once have my blood alcohol level
questioned? I would gladly go through a Checkstop if it meant that some of the people
who had been drinking would be caught. But the truth of the matter is that most
of them get away with it most of the time. This is the problem.
It doesn’t really matter what the specifics of the laws are.
I’m the first to admit that I think new law is trivial, but we need to look at
the bigger picture. At the very least, our Government deserves some credit for at
least making an attempt at reducing drinking and driving, even if the attempt
was insufficient. What matters is that people who are drunk and behind the
wheel need to be caught and appropriately punished. The horrifying stories
aren’t enough to stop everyone from drinking and driving; some people won’t
learn their lesson until they have faced the consequences. And sometimes it’s
too late and the consequences are significant, irreversible damage. 569 times in
Alberta (from 2006-2010), the consequences were death.
Most fatal collisions involving alcohol happen between 11
p.m. and 3 a.m. I want to see more police
out at night. I want to see more Checkstops. I think that there should be one
in this city every single night. I want to read about drunk drivers getting
caught every day in the newspaper until one day people realize that they’d
better smarten up and not drink and drive or they will be caught. Most importantly, I want you all to think twice
before drinking and driving, and hold your peers accountable to the same
standard. Then maybe we can all sleep a little easier, even knowing that people
we love are driving home from work at one in the morning. I bet my mom would like that.
For more information go to:
http://www.madd.ca/madd2/en/impaired_driving/impaired_driving_youth.html
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