Drunk driving has been seen as a legal offense for a long time. According to history, most of the drunk driving laws started to be implemented in the early 1970s in the USA which was followed by my most other nations. The reason to this might have been reports of over 25,000 drunk driving crashes in the late 1960s. Overall, drunk driving has ever since seen more and more restraints as well as legal consequences. Countries all over the world have different Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limits. While some countries practice a no-tolerance policy, whereby zero amount of alcohol concentration is allowed, whereas some have still not implemented any of the drunk-driving laws. Most developed countries, like Australia, even require offenders to get a drink driving lawyer, in order to undergo some legal procedures.
Most of the developed countries have 0% BAC restrictions with commercial drunk driving for cab drivers and others that drive as a job. This is important in order for a nation to protect its people from cases of drunk driving. A lot of the times drunk driving can end up being fatal and result in long years in the court procedure and even imprisonment. Alcohol consumption is never fully safe and always has consequences, this is because alcohol causes the brain activity to change with forgetfulness, impaired thinking and even blurred vision. Due to this, countries have many legal boundaries for drunk driving. Most countries allow authorities to take away an individual’s license when drunk driving, due to which many first time offenders get drink driving lawyers. Moreover, most courts are allowed to create alcohol interlocks while relicensing some professional drivers.
There are obviously some horrific stories across the world about drunk driving. One of the most common ones that still manages to catch the glimpse of the media is Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s 2002 hit-and-run case, where he was reportedly drunk. This case resulted in temporary imprisonment for Salman Khan and many years in the court. This particular case was about the fatal consequences of drunk driving and has demonstrated the fact that the law cannot be bent even by the most known of public figures. But this isn’t the only well-known case of drunk driving, former president George W. Bush was convicted of drunk driving in the late 1970s and had his license temporarily removed while paying a fine of a few hundreds of dollars.
As visible in the prior examples, even while having restrictions, many countries aren’t able to control drunk driving fully. According to MADD, in 2016 approximately 10,000 individuals lost their lives due to alcohol influence while driving. Due to this, it has been constantly urged to reduce the BAC limits to zero everywhere. Some countries have BAC limits of 0.08 % and even 0.15 % which might seem like a very limited amount yet can cause major accidents. Furthermore, the constant revival of drunk driving cases might be because a lot of the younger generation fails to understand its laws and fatal consequences. One of the most important factors in any kind of prevention is to educate, a factor which many countries leave out. Although drunk driving laws have been there for decades, authorities need to explain the reason why they must be obeyed and the manner in which they are legally registered.
Some countries, like Australia, believe drunk driving can be reduced by increasing strictness in law. For example, police authorities are allowed to randomly test a driver’s saliva in case he or she seems suspicious. It is however argued that first-time offenders of drunk driving cases, even those doing it professionally, should not undergo the same strictness through interlocks and restrictions to driving. This results in many citizens getting drink driving lawyers and allowing them to explain the situation to the court. Mostly, these offenders don’t want to be losing their driving license, even temporarily, and believe in being forgiven for being first-time offenders. It must be noted that this does not apply to cases in which there have been fatal consequences, the procedure to those are longitudinal and more complicated than other cases.
Finally, it is important to realize that all countries will treat their citizens differently. Each country treats law differently, the development of a nation can also influence the legal restrictions. As mentioned previously, most developed countries have a zero tolerance policy towards drunk driving. This is being followed on by certain developing nations. Also, drink driving lawyers will be harder to locate in some countries than in the rest. What can be learned from history, however, is that prevention does reduce numbers and so does limitation. If more countries took to making 0% the BAC, maybe these drunk driving cases would be reduced even further. Over time the world and its views are changing, yet the effects of alcohol on the brain remain the same. It has never been possible for one’s mind to not undergo changes under the influence of alcohol, therefore, strict laws on drunk driving must continue to provide a safe life to citizens around the world.