Drunk driving is a serious offense. Almost everyone has been affected by it. Either they know someone hit by a drunk driver, or they drove drunk in the past. It is illegal to drink alcohol and drive. This is an enormous problem and needs to be stopped. This will ensure the safety of everyone on the roads.

Why do people drink and drive? Most of the time, they believe they are capable of driving safely. Drinking slows your reaction time and makes it blurry to see. This is very unsafe to drive while under those conditions. The more a person drinks, the more unsafe it is for them to drive. Another reason they drive is because they don’t have a designated driver. Having a driver who hasn’t been drinking is the safest way to get home. Just make sure that the designated driver hasn’t had anything to drink. Drunk drivers sometimes drive because their house isn’t far away. No matter how far a person’s house is, it is very unsafe to drive after drinking.

In New York State, it is considered drunk driving if a person has a blood alcohol level of .08. The amount of alcohol to get to .08 depends on many factors, not just the amount of drinks. The safest thing to do is if a person has had alcohol, find a safe way to get home. There is a zero tolerance policy of a blood alcohol level of .02 for anyone under the age of 21. In 2011, 1,244 crashes have occurred in New York. According to, DUI statistics, 384 of the crashes were from people who were considered to be drunk.

Punishment for drunk driving can be severe. It has to be this way, to protect our safety on the roads and reduce driving drunk. The first offense will have a person’s license revoked for 90 days. The second and third offense will have it taken away for 6 months. An enhanced drunk driving ticket is issued for a blood alcohol level of 1.8 or higher. An offender will have to go to alcohol education to learn how not to drink and drink. An ignition device may be placed in a car so the driver gets tested before the car starts. Finally, a person’s vehicle may be confiscated due to driving drunk.
No one should ever drink and drive. It leads to many fatalities and is very unsafe. It is a problem across the United States and needs to be addressed. Nothing will ever completely get all the drunk drivers of the roads, but we can reduce them. The punishments persuade them to be less likely to drive, but it still happens.