Many of us depend on our car to get us everywhere. So sometimes after a drink or two, or the morning after a night of heavy drinking, we can be tempted to get in the driver’s seat, believing that we are competent and that we are safe. This is not only illegal, but can be a fatal mistake to make.
In Georgia between 2003 and 2012, 3699 people were killed because of accidents that a drunk driver was involved in. This is a shocking statistic, but still people continue to drive over the legal blood alcohol limit. A person is measured as being over the legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .08 percent or more.
How drunk driving incidents are tackled in Georgia
The criminalization of drunk driving is one of the biggest strategies that is used in tackling drunk drivers in the U.S. However, this alone is not enough to successfully prevent drunk drivers. The police have introduced sobriety checkpoints in many places in Georgia. They are used to stop drivers and assess whether they are driving over the legal limit. Ignition interlocks have proven successful for previously convicted drunk drivers. They prevent a car being able to function before a driver blows into a Breathalyzer test to confirm his or her sobriety.
Drunk driving convictions are serious, but they are put in place to protect people: both the driver in question and other members of the public. Drunk drivers can use their conviction to education themselves through driving programs so they can eventually drive safely on the road.
Source: CDC, “Drunk driving in georgia,” accessed Oct. 12, 2017