Despite significant progress in the war against drunk driving, drinking and driving is still killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. In New Jersey, the Drinking and Driving Law sounds tough on the books, but the law neglects to target repeat offenders--one of the most deadly groups of drunk drivers. Enforcement of the law is lax when it comes to repeat offenders, and no serious program is offered to encourage more responsible behavior by those who are serious alcoholics. This research proposes to increase the punishment and enforcement of drunk driving laws against repeat offenders, and to provide one-on-one counseling for those who appear unable or unwilling to drive responsibly.
Decrying the first increase nationally in drunken driving fatalities since 1986, the advocacy group of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) gave the nation an overall C grade for its response to the problem (Belsie, 1996, p. 4). The state-by-state MADD report decried a decrease in drunken driving arrests, a reluctance to pass tougher drunken driving laws and an increase in alcohol-related traffic deaths. It said the nation is backsliding on efforts to curb drunken driving.
California, Arizona, Florida and North Carolina all received A-minus grades--the highest rating given--in MADD's report card. By comparison, Wyoming's efforts to battle drunken driving earned it D-plus, the lowest of any state. Sadly to say, the State of New Jersey barely ranked above Wyoming, drawing a near-failing grade of C- from MADD.
Alcohol-related crashes are those where the people involved, either a driver or a non-occupant, such as a pedestrian, had some measure of alcohol in their blood, both below and at the level which defines intoxication. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 17,274 people died in alcohol-related crashes in 1995, up from 16,580 deaths in 1994. Alcohol was involved in 41.3 percent of all crash fatalities ...