Proposal Essay Essay Research Paper Proposal Essay

Proposal Essay: Essay, Research Paper

Proposal Essay:

Organizations, sobriety checkpoints, and stricter laws to decrease

the death toll in alcohol related car accidents

The huge auditorium is filled with grim-faced teenagers who sit in complete silence as the family of the young girl struggle to finish what they have to say. Photographs are displayed on the stage; a girl smiling on a swing, in the sand at the beach, and laughing with her friends. Who would have thought that this girl would be among the 25,000 people killed by drunk drivers a year in the United States. The students sit silently watching the couple grieve for their child, many feeling guilty and embarrassed; each of them have heard of or are friends with people who have driven while intoxicated. Yet, few teenagers think that it could ever happen to them.

In 1991, a boy named Jason was racing friends and driving drunk. They all thought they were having a good time, but that all changed in a split second when he caused a crash that claimed the life of his 15 year-old sister, Erin. Jason’s actions resulted in him being convicted of vehicular manslaughter, and being sent to prison for a 6-year period. Jason was one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, his younger sister Erin was not.

Every twenty-two minutes a person is killed in an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash. On average, 25,000 lives are lost each year in the United States due to drunk driving, and it is estimated that five thousand miles of alcohol-impaired driving occur for each arrest. While only one out of the two thousand drivers with a blood alcohol level of .10% or higher is arrested, drunk driving is a serious crime, and severe measures must be enforced to solve it. Sobriety checkpoints; breathalyzer tests at bars, clubs, and parking garages; stricter penalties; and more informative organizations are all ways in which problem can be solved.

Although young people are less likely to drive than adults are, teen accident rates are substantially higher than those of adult drivers. Half of all car accidents-which are the leading cause of death among teenagers-involve alcohol. In 1996 nearly 7,800 drivers ages 16-20 were involved in car accidents in which people died. Although none of these drivers was old enough to drink legally, 23% had been driving under the influence of alcohol. One way in which we can decrease the number of alcohol related accidents with teens is to establish more organizations to teach students the consequences of driving drunk, as well as helping students cope with peer pressure. One such organization is S.A.D.D, Students Against Drunk Driving. In September of 1981, a small high school in Wayland Massachusetts experienced a tragic loss. Two well-known high school students died within a week of each other in alcohol related crashes. Responding to the deaths of two of his students, Robert Anastas started the organization. Run primarily by high school students, SADD focuses on reducing the number of alcohol-related driving accidents and helping students resist peer pressure. Since the development of SADD in 1985, the number of drunk driving accidents went down 14%, the largest drop for any age group during that time. By establishing more organizations like SADD around the country, teens will be less likely to drive drunk, and fewer teens will take part in social drinking.

While organizations in which people learn the consequences of drunk driving and ways to avoid peer pressure may work for the adolescent part of society, what about the adults who already know these consequences and choose to drive drunk anyway? In these cases, the government needs to provide better treatment and longer sentences to those who are caught. Alcoholics Anonymous has been proven to work best for most adults and should serve as a treatment base. However, transfers to such places definitely can not happen immediately. Those caught drinking and driving should only be transferred to treatment centers after a minimum of 30 days in a correction facility. This would serve as a “wake up call” for people who are capable of risking their lives, as well as the lives of others.

Leonard Zailskas, founder of Braintree Alternative Center Substance Abuse Program, feels that in order to protect society from potential damage such individuals can do on the road; drunk drivers should be given significant jail sentences followed by mandatory alcoholism treatment, and aftercare with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Another possible solution to the problem of drunk driving in the United States is sobriety checkpoints on Friday and Saturday nights. This plan could be implemented in many ways. First, policemen could situate themselves at certain points along streets and highways, and pull people over at random to check and make certain that they are not under the influence of alcohol. This way we could attempt to stop the problem before the accident occurs, rather than waiting for the inevitable. People found to be driving while under the influence will be subject to fine, arrest, or imprisonment, accompanied by a suspension of their license. Thus, rather than waiting for the accident to occur before getting these people help, we can eliminate the threat in the first place. Also, for those who might contemplate “having a few drinks” before driving, there is now a possibility that they may get pulled over at random