A huge problem contributing to the increase of drunk driving all over the country is that people don’t realize it can be prevented. This is why drunk driving still exists. Jeanne Mejeur makes it clear that a great amount of people are affected by drunk driving, but it could be avoided. David J. Hanson has the same idea and believes that all injuries and deaths resulting from drunk driving are preventable. Jeanne Mejeur states that “the lethal combination of alcohol and wheels continues to kill 48 people every day in this country and causes more than 17,000 deaths annually.” David J. Hanson points out that “the relative risk of death for drivers in single-vehicle crashes with a high BAC is 385 times that of a zero-BAC.” As of right now, there is not enough physical action happening to resolve this problem. This is a huge issue because if drunk driving is so easy to put to a halt, then why is it still occurring everywhere? People may not even realize how important this problem is.
One main factor that facilitates drunk driving is the lack of one’s self-control when drinking. The server of alcohol is, in most cases, the only person who can gauge the amount of drinks a person has consumed. This burdens them with the responsibility to “cut them off” or deny them more drinks based on the level of intoxication. Dan Frosch says that the servers of alcohol are the root of the reason why people drink and drive. Opposing Viewpoints elaborates on the idea and says that people who drive at the legal BAC limit are still impaired and can’t operate a vehicle like they do when they are sober. Opposing Viewpoints gathered information from the US Department of Transportation, who says that “the vast majority of drivers with a BAC of 0.08 have trouble with critical driving skills such as steering, braking, and changing lanes.” People who serve alcohol are an important factor when looking at the statistics of drunk driving.