BEHS 364 Discussion Forum 2: Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
BEHS 364 Discussion Forum 2: Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence (DUI) is a term that describes people who drive while intoxicated with alcohol, drugs, and sometimes both. DUI is a crime and every state has a law that sets the minimum alcohol blood concentration. I am from New York where DUI is also referred to as Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). The DWI law in New York defines the level of acceptable blood alcohol concentration and the penalty for violating the law. The rationale behind the law is that people who are intoxicated are not capable of making a sound judgments (Oh et al., 2020). Moreover, alcohol affects coordination and thus, one’s ability to operate a vehicle safely. According to New York DWI law, impairment due to alcohol or drugs is determined by five factors: the amount of alcohol a person has drunk, whether they ate before drinking, length of drinking time, body weight, and gender.
The VTL 1192-2 DWI law state that a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more means intoxication and such a person should not drive (7th Judicial District, 2018). Similarly, VTL 1192-4 forbids driving while impaired with substances other than alcohol, for example, drugs (7th Judicial District, 2018). When a person is found in violation of the DWI laws, first their license is suspended as they wait for prosecution. Other consequences include fines, jail time, and the possibility of losing driving privileges.
According to statistics, out of the reported crashes in New York, 30% are due to drinking while intoxicated with alcohol (New York State Police, 2022). Additionally, drunk driving is responsible for 17,000 deaths each year in the state of New York.
BEHS 364 Discussion Forum 2: Driving Under the Influence (DUI) References
7th Judicial District. (2018). Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Retrieved from New York Courts: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/7jd/courts/city/criminal/DWI.shtml#:~:text=Driving%20While%20Intoxicated%20(DWI)%20is,to%20safely%20operate%20a%20vehicle.
New York State Police. (2022). Impaired Driving. Retrieved from New York State Police: https://troopers.ny.gov/impaired-driving#:~:text=Traffic%20Safety%20Committee-,Stats,fatal%20crashes%20are%20alcohol%20related.
Oh, S., Vaughn, M., Salas-Wright, C., AbiNader, M., & Sanchez, M. (2020). Driving under the influence of Alcohol: Findings from the NSDUH, 2002-2017. Addict Behav. , 108:106439. https://doi.10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106439.
Discussion Forum 2: Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
For this week’s discussion forum, we will discuss some of the issues related to DUI. Each of you will be asked to identify your state of residence and how your state defines blood alcohol concentration level. What is the law for a first-time DUI offense in your state and what is the current documented DUI fatality rate in your state? Please respond to two students from different states and look into their alcohol statistics and identify a group most at risk for alcohol abuse/dependence in their respective states
