DRINKING AND DRIVING

Drinking and Driving

Drinking and Driving

Introduction

One of the most common and tragic of alcohol-related social problems is that of driving under the influence of alcohol, colloquially known as drunk driving. Given the longstanding social acceptance of alcohol use, it is not surprising that for as long as there have been wheeled vehicles, drivers have consumed alcohol and driven while impaired by its influence (Hingson, 2002). Legislation penalizing driving while intoxicated existed in England even in the early nineteenth century. The clamor for such legislation increased dramatically in the twentieth century as automobiles were invented and as they became more pervasive, powerful, and perilous.

Given overwhelming evidence for the primacy of sociological factors in determining both drinking patterns and their consequences, it is clear that ethnographic research findings on the social and cultural roles of alcohol may have important implications for policy-makers - particularly in areas where economic and political 'convergence' could have significant impact on drinking-cultures and their associated lifestyles (Laurence, 2001). It is essential for those concerned with policy and legislation on alcohol to have a clear understanding of the sociological functions and meanings of drinking.

It is clear that in all cultures where more than one type of alcoholic beverage is available, drinks are classified in terms of their social meaning, and the classification of drinks is used to define the social world. Few, if any, alcoholic beverages are 'socially neutral': every drink is loaded with symbolic meaning, every drink conveys a message. Alcohol is a symbolic vehicle for identifying, describing, constructing and manipulating cultural systems, values, interpersonal relationships, behavioral norms and expectations. Choice of beverage is rarely a matter of personal taste.

Discussion

Traveling in a motor vehicle at highway speeds, or even at a much slower rate, is unavoidably associated with a substantial degree of risk. Because car accidents have the potential to be so disruptive and harmful to the health of the persons involved, it is incumbent upon each and every motorist to do whatever he can to avoid unnecessarily increasing the likelihood of a traffic accident. There are some basic driving behaviors that we might take for granted which can accomplish this, notably the proper use of a vehicle's turn signals and adherence to posted speed limits and other traffic laws. But one simple means of prevent needless danger is often overlooked in this context. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a hazard that is quite literally 100 per preventable, yet each year thousands of people are injured or killed because of someone's negligent and reckless decision to drive drunk (Robin, 2004).

There has been a focused and prolonged effort on behalf of numerous advocacy groups and the government to draw attention to the dangers posed by intoxicated driving in the hope that this would eliminate the problem. Regrettably, there seems to be no end in sight for the tragedies that result from intoxicated driving. Now, decades after the first real push to change the cultural attitude toward drinking and driving, it is ...