4A

Due to the fact that the average American spends 17,600 minutes per year driving (newsroom.aaa.com), I feel that there is a great need for extensive safety measures in cars, specifically a need to keep drunk drivers off the roads. Over the past few years, the United States has been working to limit the amount of drunk driving. In order to ensure this, the US government has installed numerous sobriety checkpoints and created "zero tolerance" laws that prohibits any person under 21 years of age from driving drunk. Another preventative measure that isn't as common is an ignition interlock that does not allow a driver to operate their vehicle if their blood alcohol content is above the legal limit. The only issue with this interlock is that it is costly to install, time consuming, and completely optional and up to the driver's discretion. However, I believe that it is crucial to mandate that these ignition interlocks be installed in every vehicle that is sold in the United States to ensure safer streets and less drunk driving related deaths and injuries.

#1: 22 year old college male, in a fraternity

• Have you ever consumed alcohol knowing you were going to be operating a vehicle later? "Yes, but I try to give myself enough time to sober up."
• Have you ever operated a vehicle while intoxicated? "Only a few times and I am not proud of it."
• Do any of your friends drive while intoxicated? "Yes, unfortunately I know a lot of people that drunk drive."
• Do you know someone that has passed away due to a drunk driving related accident? "Yes, my friend passed away on New Year's Day after she tried to drive home in the morning after drinking all night."
• Did you know that one person dies every 30 minutes due to a drunk driving related accident? "No, I did not."
• Would you install an ignition interlock for your car? "How much would it cost?" $500 "No, that is too expensive for me" What about if it was free? "Yes."
• Do you have any solutions on how to combat drunk driving? "It is very difficult to get people to listen to others when they are intoxicated. No matter how hard I try to take my friends' keys away when they're drunk, they always find a way to get on the road."

Reflection:

People, especially young people, will not just volunteer to stop drunk driving. There needs to be a cheap way to ensure that these young adults are understanding the seriousness of drunk driving and all of the potential consequences that come with it. Many young people know that drunk driving is a problem and are constantly looking for solutions but they feel unstoppable when they are under the influence and do not have a stable mindset to properly acknowledge the choices they are making.

#2: 16 year old female, new driver

• Have you ever consumed alcohol knowing you were going to be operating a vehicle later? "Yes, but not a lot."
• Have you ever operated a vehicle while intoxicated? "Never, that scares me."
• Do any of your friends drive while intoxicated? "Not too many but I'm sure more than I think do."
• Do you know someone that has passed away due to a drunk driving related accident? "I have had friends crash while they were drunk driving but never die." 
• Did you know that one person dies every 30 minutes due to a drunk driving related accident? "That's crazy, I had no idea."
• Would you install an ignition interlock for your car? "Yes, if it came with the car."
• Do you have any solutions on how to combat drunk driving? "Not really, I just think people have to not do it."

Reflection:

Teenagers that are under 21 are scared enough about consuming alcohol illegally, they should not also be concerned with getting away with drunk driving illegally too. Kids are usually unaware of the gravity of drunk driving because they do not know many people who have been driving for a long time and have not heard horror stories of drunk driving yet. However, it is extremely important to educate them on the consequences of driving under the influence before they learn this the hard way.

#3: Middle aged female, mother of 3

• Have you ever consumed alcohol knowing you were going to be operating a vehicle later? "No, my husband usually drives when we go to events because he does not like to drink."
• Have you ever operated a vehicle while intoxicated? "No, as I mentioned before, I am not the one that drives to events where alcohol is served."
• Do any of your friends drive while intoxicated? "I would like to think that they don't but who knows?"
• Do you know someone that has passed away due to a drunk driving related accident? "Yes and I am very cautious on the roads during Friday and Saturday nights because of that."
• Did you know that one person dies every 30 minutes due to a drunk driving related accident? "I did, these statistics are getting higher and higher every year."
• Would you install an ignition interlock for your car? "Yes, it is so important to find a way to stop drunk driving."
• Do you have any solutions on how to combat drunk driving? "I think ignition interlocks are a great idea because, that way, a drunk driver literally cannot operate his or her vehicle."

Reflection:

Once someone has reached their older years, they begin to see the effects of drunk driving more and more each day. They agree that there needs to be something done in order to prevent accidents from occurring and they believe that it cannot be optional because many people would not choose the option to take these preventative measures.

Summary:

After conversing with numerous drivers from all walks of life, I have realized that they see a need for a solution too. While most people do not know how to go about combatting a problem with such magnitude like drunk driving, a majority of citizens want to be a part of the solution, not the problem. These interviews made me further acknowledge the importance of ensuring safe roads throughout the United States. It also made me consider that a voluntary or temporary solution is not going to work, a true solution will be expensive and take time. However, this is the type of solution that America needs if we truly want to limit the amount of drunk driving related accidents.