Psychology of DWI Activism in Cyberspace:Education on the Web
Psychology of DWI Activism in Cyberspace:
Traffic Safety Research Abstracts/Applications or TSRA is a site provided by NCAAD(National Commission Against Drunk Driving), where one can visit to learn and read about studies and researches that were done on the topic of drunk driving and issues related to drunk driving, such as youth and adolescents, young adults, and chronic drunk drivers. They also focus on other areas such as how to prevent Driving While Intoxicated, Treatment of Driving Under the Influence, and the legal sanctions of drunk driving. TSRA is a great site for those who are interested in traffic safety, and do not have the time to do a thorough research on it, because TSRA and its researchers at Wichita State University summarize and identify studies on this important topic.
TSRA is also very user friendly because it provides its visitors with many links and is open to any questions, comments, and improvements.
TSRA focuses on 6 different topics. **You can link to the above sites by clicking on it**
It has been found that educationally based prevention campaigns are more successful because its main goal is to change teenagers attitudes toward driving and drinking. Teenage advocates speak about this serious topic to other teenagers in their schools and communities, and they do not use scare tactics or exaggerated factual information to prevent teenagers from drinking and driving. They educate other teenagers on how to avoid peer pressure, how to educate other teenagers on drinking and driving, how to increase a teenagers life skills, such as the teens self-concept, communication, and decision making skills. They also offer other alternatives to drinking and driving, such as the importance of a designated driver
A Few Facts on Teenagers Drinking and Driving:
Teenage advocates seems to be a good way to educate youths on the consequences and seriousness of drinking and driving. Having teenagers as role models may be more effective than adults becuase teenage advocates may understand and be able to help more with issues, such as, peer pressure.
Research found that most young adults find drinking and driving to be a normative behavior and part of their social life, such as drinking with their buddies after work. Although many young adults are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving, they do not always avoid driving after they drink or intervene when a friend drinks and drives.
These are a Few Ways We Can Encourage Anti-Drunk Driving Behavior In Young Adults:
Unfortunately, I agree that young adults between the ages of 21-34 find drinking as part their social life. Being in that age group, I admit that socializing with my friends includes alcohol. Although alcohol is part of our social life, it does not consume us to where we are irresponsible. Speaking for myself, when my friends and I socialize, there is always a designated driver.
Chronic Drinking Drivers are a major problem in our society. Approximately 10,000 people die each year and 250,000 people are injured due to chronic drinking drivers.
Given the statistics of addicents and deaths each year, chronic drunk drivers should have a more severe punishment than having their license suspended. License suspension does not appear to be a good punishment because it does not totally prevent a person from driving. Repeat offenders of DWI/DUI should also be given a severe fine with their consequences. Maybe monetary punishments would make a person think twice, especially if they don't have much. I also think that if a person is an offender of DWI/DUI more than once, the public should be made aware, because the offender not only puts himself at risk, but also the public, therefore, they have the right to know.
It has been found that the ignition interlock device is quite successful according to a Longitudinal Study done in Hamilton County Ohio. The study found that out of 273 offenders who had the ignition interlock device implemented in their car had significantly fewer repeat DUI arrests in a 30 month period compared to the 182 offenders who had their license suspended. The DUI rearrest rate for the licence suspension group was appproximately three times greater. Also out of the 273 offenders who had the ignition interlock device, only four were arrested for driving a non-interlock vehicle compared to the 41 license suspension offenders who were arrested for driving.
Ignition interlock device seems to be a more effective punishment than license suspension because the offender can only aviod the punishment if he/she uses another car. Although it may not be the perfect answer to prevent DWI/DUI, I believe it is a good start in having more effective punishments for DUI/DWI offenders.
However, a combined intervention approach consisting of education, licensing sanction, psychotherapy, and follow-up supervision seem to help the repeat offenders.
I agree that DUI offenders need help, intervention, and therapy to help their drinking problem. Drinking and Driving is not only a serious crime, but it could also be a disease, if the offender is an alcoholic. Therefore, chronic DUI/DWI drivers should be treated as if it was also a disease, because if the punishments they received did not prevent them from drinking and driving again, there needs to be a better way to treat these repeat offenders.
Stricter laws against drivers who drink and drive should be implemented in order for any type of change to occur because, it is estimated that a person may drive drunk between 200 and 2000 times before being apprehended.
It is quite obvious that there are strong beliefs and agreements that there needs to be stricter laws against DWI/DUI offenders. I think it's a good idea to persecute those under the age of 21 as adults, if they drink and drive. If a teenager wants to act as an adult then he/she should suffer the consequences like an adult.
My Involvement and Description of TSRA
The topics include:
Youth and Adolescents focuses on how to prevent youths from drinking and driving. It discusses a few tactics that are used to try and stop teenagers from drinking and driving. Some of the tactics are scare tactics and providing factual information to educate the harms and dangers of drinking and driving. However, such tactics as those have been found to be quite useless because many teenagers still experiment with alcohol due to "curiosity." It has also been found that teenagers tend to distrust the information given to them because it is sometimes exaggerated and not totally factual.
For more Information on YOUTH and ADOLESCENTS click on the links below
Young Adults--Drinking and driving among young adults, those between the ages of 21 and 34, is very serious, and unfortunately very common. According to NCADD young adults are responsible for more alcohol related crashes and kill more people than any other age group.
For more Information on YOUNG ADULTS click on the links below
Chronic Drunk Drivers are stereotyped as usually being alcoholics and/or have a substance abuse problem. They are usually white males between the ages of 21 and 34. Most chronic drinking drivers repeat their behavior even after they are caught by the police. Although license suspension seems to be a severe consequence that would make more people think twice about drinking and driving, chronic drinking drivers are not as affected by their loss of thier license, because most of them are usually alcoholics and sometimes the time between the arrest and license revocation is usually long. For more Information on CHRONIC DRUNK DRIVERS click on the links below
Using Technology to Prevent DWI is another technique to aid in controlling and preventing individuals who drink and drive, because repeat offenders of DUI who have their license revoked still continue to drive, therefore, another type of prevention is needed. The technology that it focuses on is ignition interlock device, and it is an instrument that attaches a breathalyzer to the cars ignition, to check if the driver, who is a chronic drinker, is able to operate his/her car. If the breathalyzer reads a BAC above the legal alcohol consumption then the driver will not be able to start the car. For more Information on USING TECHNOLOGY to PREVENT DWI click on the links below
Treatment of DUI Offenders seems to vary among individuals. Individuals who are first time DUI offenders, the traditional suspension of their license seems to work. However, for the repeat offenders, license suspension does not always work, because these repeat offenders are more likely to have severe alcohol problems. For more Information on TREATMENT of DUI OFFENDERS click on the links below
Legal Sanctions--One of the most prevalent legal santions against DUI offenders are license suspension and incarceration. However, this seems to only be effective toward first time offenders of DUI. Therefore, there is a general agreement that laws must be strenuously enforced and the public needs to be made aware of the legal consequences of receiving a DUI. Also, to prevent and control repeated offenders of DUI, the state can also consider limiting the availability of alcohol by restricting alcohol outlet density on a geographical and per capita basis, lowering the legal BAC to .08%,increasing the price of alcohol through sales tax, enacting zero tolerance laws for those under the age of 21, and they (those under the age of 21) should be prosecuted as adults and have their license revoked until they reach the age of 21.
For more Information on LEGAL SANCTIONS click on the links below
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