| Chapter 10- Beyond Traffic Safety |
| Instructions for this Report |
| Summary | Questions & Answers |
| Reactions | Comparison | Suggestions |
In chapter 10 Rothe discusses impaired diving and
the influences contributing to it. Rothe discusses impaired driving and
how it becomes labeled as a problem. He mentions the medical model and
how doctors measure the alcohol content in the blood. While this is a logical
way to determine how drunk a person is, I do not agree that impaired driving
is a medical problem. I think that the problem is that doctors have created
a disease model for just about everything today. Doctors look at an alcoholic
and label him as an individual with a disease. I do not see an alcoholic
as a person with a disease because alcoholism is something he has done
to himself. The alcoholic can stop drinking with the help of rehabilitation
and therefore solve the problem of his
alcoholism. A person with a real disease such as cancer can not stop
the disease himself. The only thing he can do is pray that doctors and
medicine can save his life.
Rothe discusses situational influences for impaired
driving. For example, Rothe points out that people in a more upscale drinking
establishment are less likely to become intoxicated and therefore less
likely to drive drunk than an individual who has been drinking in a sleazy
bar where sloppy intoxication is the norm. I think that because people
who are drinking in a
nice restaurants would probably be embarrassed to be seen leaving drunk
while those in a bar would likely not bar what other patrons thought of
them.
Although impaired driving is done by all kinds of
people, economics plays a role in impaired driving as well. For example,
champagne is a more expensive form of alcohol so it tends to be sold in
smaller portions than cheap wines which are often sold in large jugs. The
results here are obvious. The champagne drinker with more money is less
likely to become drunk than the poor drinker of cheap wine.
Time influences are discussed by Rothe as well.
The time influences on impaired driving are obvious. It is far more likely
that a person will encounter an impaired driver at 3AM Sunday morning after
the bars have closed that 12PM Monday afternoon at lunch hour.
Cultural use of alcohol as Rothe discusses also
contributes to impaired driving. In U.S. culture nearly everyone drinks.
Use of alcohol is culturally accepted so the level of impaired driving
is obviously going to be higher than in an country where the drinking of
alcohol is prohibited by their religion.
Rothe urges readers to look at the many influences
contributing to impaired driving: situation, social, economic, political,
media, time, and cultural. It is not a simple problem with only one cause
or one solution. With each incidence of impaired driving there is a unique
cause. Rothe asks that with each incidence of impaired driving that people
look at the reason why the
person deviated from rational norms and what the consequences were
for that deviation, and lastly to look at what the results would have been
had the individual not driven impaired.
Flores,
Christopher: What do you think of the recent discussion in Hawaii
of banning teens from driving at night?
A: I really think that it would change the attitudes of teens
with this law in affect. They know that they will get pulled over
anyway because of their age. Without this law, teens have a chance
to drink and not get caught because it's very possible to do.
Hampp,
Karla: Do you think that if they lowered the blood alcohol level
to .01 and made the penalty much worse for getting caught, would that help?
A: I really don't think that the blood alcohol level matters
because people will always do what they want and take the risks doing it.
Even with the impaired driving laws now, many people still take the chance
of getting caught.
Huynh,
Don: What do you think is the answer/cure for impaired driving,
how to stop it from occurring?
A: I believe that there is no law that can keep it from occurring,
or anybody to stop it. I believe that educating people on how to
drive drunk can help to limit the accidents. Nothing is taught about
driving impaired so the people have to learn on their own and test their
own limits. Another thing is that they should educate people to recognize
these impaired drivers and what to do to keep themselves safe.
Due to a bomb threat, no other questions were collected.
I felt pretty good answering question because the content was easy to understand and easy to remember. I got the feeling that everyone in the class basically had the same questions in mind. Everyone seemed to be paying attention to me because I was getting a lot of eye contact. The questions in the end gave me the impression that they were listening and that everything was easily understood.
I think all the reports are basically the same when it comes to content. The only differences I saw was the appearance of the page. Some people had lots of pictures and bright colors while others had a simple white background but their text varied in size and style. I think because of the rules put upon the reports, that they all were pretty basic looking.
You have to have some interest in the report you're doing because if you're not interesting, nobody else will be. The better the person's report you are presenting, the better your presentation will be. You need to take good notes of the content and make it flow so everyone doesn't get bored. Also make sure you take good notes during the discussion because it is hard to remember everything that everyone says in a hour long class.
