Drunk Driving Amongst Teenagers in Canada
Driving is fun, but drinking and driving is not! Hundreds of people are killed and thousands are injured every year in an accident with a drunk driver. This issue doesn’t only affect the victim itself, but the families, loved ones and communities as well. Drunk driving amongst teens is a serious issue, and is growing by the minute. Drunk driving is somebody’s choice or somebody’s authorization to get behind the wheel when they are clearly impaired. The scars from a drunk driving accident take an emotional and physical toll on the victim, the families, their loved ones, and their communities. 45% of road accidents amongst teenagers are results of impaired driving(1).
If the legal age to drive in Canada is 19(2), and the legal drinking age in Canada is 19(3), why do they mix? Teens have the highest death rate, more 19 year olds die or are injured than any other age group. Vehicle crashes is the leading death cause amongst 15-25 year olds, 45% of those accidents are due to alcohol. Males account for 87% of the fatally injured drunk drivers. Teenage drunk drivers are more likely to be killed or injured during the summertime and weekends, a smaller amount of accidents happen in the wintertime. By the time a driver reaches a blood acohol level of .10%, they are 51 times more likely to get into an acciddnt than a non-drinking driver(4). Teenage drunk driving in Canada is a social justice issue, because someone is making the choice to get behind the wheel while intoxicated fully knowing the risks, not only that but they are breaking the law and endangering the lives of others. According to A Victim’s Guide to the Canadian Criminal Justice System there is no minimum penalty for a drunk driver that has caused bodily harm or a death(5), many drunk drivers seek “Justice with compassion” to flee the hefty fines and even imprisionment. I’m not saying they should remove justice with compassion, but they have to call things what they are when it comes to taking an innocent
If the legal age to drive in Canada is 19(2), and the legal drinking age in Canada is 19(3), why do they mix? Teens have the highest death rate, more 19 year olds die or are injured than any other age group. Vehicle crashes is the leading death cause amongst 15-25 year olds, 45% of those accidents are due to alcohol. Males account for 87% of the fatally injured drunk drivers. Teenage drunk drivers are more likely to be killed or injured during the summertime and weekends, a smaller amount of accidents happen in the wintertime. By the time a driver reaches a blood acohol level of .10%, they are 51 times more likely to get into an acciddnt than a non-drinking driver(4). Teenage drunk driving in Canada is a social justice issue, because someone is making the choice to get behind the wheel while intoxicated fully knowing the risks, not only that but they are breaking the law and endangering the lives of others. According to A Victim’s Guide to the Canadian Criminal Justice System there is no minimum penalty for a drunk driver that has caused bodily harm or a death(5), many drunk drivers seek “Justice with compassion” to flee the hefty fines and even imprisionment. I’m not saying they should remove justice with compassion, but they have to call things what they are when it comes to taking an innocent
Cited: (4) "Overview - Youth and Impaired Driving." MADD Canada. Copyright © MADD Canada | Charity Registration #13907 2060 RR0001, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. <http://www.madd.ca/madd2/en/impaired_driving/impaired_driving_youth.html>. (10) EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL AND DRIVING. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991. Vingilis, Charles. (13) Dworjan, Tania. "Statistics of Teenage Drunk Driving." LoveToKnow Teens. © 2006-2013 LoveToKnow Corp., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. <http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Statistics_of_Teenage_Drunk_Driving>.