Due to the efforts of advocacy groups like MADD, the penalties and consequences of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and drugs have gotten much stiffer.
It's not a question of whether you are legally intoxicated, it's a question of whether or not it is safe to drive when you have consumed any amount of alcohol. Research shows that impairment begins long before a person reaches the blood alcohol concentration level of .08.
Sign up for this four-day email course to learn why driving while drinking is dangerous, the penalties and costs of driving while intoxicated, why the penalties have increased, and the implications of an alcohol evaluation.
In case you haven't noticed, the penalties for drinking and driving have gotten a lot tougher thanks to groups like MADD. Even for first offenders, the costs of a drunk driving conviction can add up quickly.
If someone is arrested for drunk driving, most states make the assumption that the person has a drinking problem and they mandate alcohol evaluation, education and treatment before restoring driving privileges.
If you have been arrested for drunk driving, in most states at some point you will be evaluated to find out if you have a drinking problem that may require treatment. This quiz is an example of the questions you will be asked and the results you may receive from the evaluation.
Instead of picking someone to remain sober and be the designated driver, a new study has found that many young people are choosing the "least drunk" of their group to get behind the wheel after a night of drinking.
Driving after you have been drinking is never a good idea, but how about when someone who is obviously intoxicated thinks they are OK?
Laws regarding drunk driving vary from state to state. These pages explain the highlights of the laws of each state in the U.S. for driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated or operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
The likelihood of having an "accident" increases with every drink a driver takes. Here are the cold, hard facts.
If you are convicted of drunk driving, in most states your automobile insurance rates are likely going to go up for at least three years and you will probably be learning at lot about something called SR-22.
The difference between DUI and DWI explained by the About.com Alcoholism Guide.
This list includes some of the legal terms and acronyms associated with drunk driving cases, also known as driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated and driving while impaired.
Request your driver's record directly from the department of transportation or motor vehicles division.
The economic impact on society of alcohol-impaired driving was thought to be well documented and all too apparent, but researchers at the Injury Prevention Center have discovered another way drunk drivers increase healthcare costs.
Almost one out of every six drivers you meet on the highway at night on the weekends are driving under the influence of some kind of drugs.
Not all drunk drivers are problem drinkers, so prevention efforts should be targeted at a wider range of drinkers, not just the chronic heavy drinkers, researchers have concluded.
Most first-time drunk driving offenders have high rates of other substance abuse as well as other psychiatric disorders and may need enhanced intervention programs that go beyond the conventional alcohol-related programs, the researchers say.
In light of the revelation that Princess Diana's driver was drinking, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups are using the incident as ammunition in their war against drunk drivers.
The loved ones of those killed by drunken drivers have published many memorial pages on the Internet honoring the victims. There are hundreds of them.
Not all victims of drunk drivers are killed. Many survive the crashes, but for some their lives are changed forever.
Vehicle crash victims who have alcohol in their systems at the time of the crash suffer worse injuries, and are more likely to sustain a severe injury, than those who haven't been drinking, a new study finds.
Not all drunk drivers are problem drinkers, so prevention efforts should be targeted at a wider range of drinkers, not just the chronic heavy drinkers, researchers have concluded.
After a decline of alcohol-impaired driving throughout most of the 1990s, a new study shows that driving while intoxicated has increased signficantly and researchers believe is linked to an increase in binge drinking.
Imaging studies of the brain when it is under the influence of alcohol reveal that different areas of the brain are impaired under high and low levels of alcohol, according to a Yale study.
Young people who drink alcohol mixed with "energy drinks" may not feel the effects of their drinking as much, but their motor coordination and visual reaction time are just as impaired, according to a study by Brazilian researchers.
Trauma is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States and alcohol plays a big role in accidents and injuries.
Alcohol consumption is associated with a wide range of accidents and injuries resulting from impaired performance of complex mental and motor functions.
The cognitive effects of the alcohol linger well after motor performance is back to alcohol-free levels, causing drinkers to believe they are sober when they may still be impaired.
The number of U.S. traffic fatalies hit a 13-year high in 2003, with a total of 43,220 deaths on U.S. highways and 40 percent of those were alcohol-related.
Drinking alcohol impairs a wide range of skills necessary for carrying out the basic tasks required to drive safely.
Alcohol-related traffic death rates decreased in 32 states but increased in 17 during the last five years.
From your About.com guide, MADD has once again taken the lead in trying to get legislation passed to crack down on drunk driving.
Traffic deaths related to alcohol were at their lowest rate but still account for one-third of all highway deaths.
A California judge said a drunk driver was not guilty of manslaughter in an auto crash case in which a baby, delivered prematurely after the crash, died hours later.
A vote by the U.S. Senate virtually forces all states to adopt a .08 legal intoxication standard for drunk drivers.
The Year 2000 was generally a tough year for drunk drivers and important one for those who advocate stiff restrictions and greater penalties.
Use this calculator to estimate your blood alcohol concentration by the number of drinks that you had. The results are only approximate estimates of your actual BAC level.
An eye-opening fact sheet from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations among users. Some users may become intoxicated at a much lower levels.
