CSBM5 said:
Hmmm....about 41 people per day (on average over a year's time) die on the highways of the USA due to drunk driving/drivers. The majority of these are innocent people taken out by a drunk behind the wheel. It is such a sick realization that "nobody really cares" about drunk driving enough such that the problem is solved.
Unfortunately, your data is likely based on neo-prohibitionist propaganda spewed by organizations like MADD, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (and higher insurance premiums), and the NHTSA. Pressure is put on cops to classify whatever they can as an alcohol related crash, especially if fatalities are involved. Drunk pedestrian hit by a car? Chalk that up to alcohol related. Passenger in a car is drunk and they get into an accident? Alcohol related again. That's why these statistics are so eagerly repeated by the press; because their grossly inflated numbers send the public into a frenzy and panic about the "epidemic" at hand.
The fact is that all people care about drunks and DUI related deaths. People also care about getting persecuted for having a drink with dinner by the aggressive techniques of law enforcement to enforce DUI laws. But no one wants to stand up to this pressure in society for fear of being labeled a sympathizer to DUI offenders. Also, the latest ad campaigns by law enforcement and MADD are pushing a campaign for absolutely no drinking and driving. Zero, nada, no glass of wine with dinner, nothing. We are no longer adults capable of making a choice for ourselves. This is prohibitionist rhetoric thinly disguised by the people who are pushing it. Everyone is in on the scheme now though. Thousands of dollars in fines for DUI's, zero tolerance buzzwords being tossed around everywhere, public ridicule and possible termination by your employer in some circles, the threat of expulsion from society to a small island is the only punishment they haven't explored yet.
The sad thing is that going after social drinkers is just going to generate more criminals out of responsible members of society. Repeat DUI offenders and habitual drunks with high BAC's are the ones who need to have the book thrown at them. Unfortunately, that's a more difficult problem to tackle, and it's easier to just throw general increased police presence and enforcement down the throats of all citizens.
Adam Wilson
www.e12m535i.com
'80 //M535i 4145018
'94 //M5 3.8
Illinois State Activist for the NMA