Impaired Driving And Driving Under The Influence

Mother of two killed by intoxicated driver while going to pick her kids up from school, family of 4 from Oakville killed going to son's hockey game by impaired driver, grandparents bringing their granddaughter out for ice cream struck and killed by impaired driver. Aren’t you tired of hearing that. On average 4 Canadians are killed and 175 injured are in impairment related crashes everyday.(MADD) Do you want one of your loved ones to be a victim of an impaired driver I know I don’t so we should step and finally put an end to people driving under the influence. I believe if you are charged with impaired driving you should automatically go to jail and be required to successfully complete a rehabilitation program. Benjamin Franklin one said “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” So if rehabilitation and automatic jail sentence can help prevent an impaired driver relapse we should make it a law.

To start off impaired driving is a large problem that is not going away. With the recent legalization of marijuana, it will likely get even worse. I believe that anyone caught driving under the influence should automatically do a jail sentence. The amount of time may vary depending on the incident, this will be a deterrent. Driving impaired is a daily occurrence that affects the rate of canadian crimes. Every community is affected by impaired driving and we don’t seem to see a decrease in statistics. We need stiffer punishment to make people think twice before getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol and drugs. 

In conclusion, it is just as important for offenders to complete jail time as it is to be rehabilitated for their alcohol and drug issues that led to the conclusion. Offenders need to be more stable than they were before they entered jail to ensure they will not re-offend. So always remember driving impaired is like killing yourself just don’t do it, think before you get in that car because you never know who you are going to affect.healthcare system of the Canadians who are killed and severely injured by these drivers are adversely affected. Drunk driving accidents cause the country billions of dollars. In 2010 it was reported the cost for Canada was $20.62 billion. This puts a great strain on our healthcare system which is already being pushed to its limits. The loss of life and death of the victim also brings an emotional burden of great grief and also financial burden such as a funeral to the breadwinner of a family. Also if impaired drivers are convicted and giving an automatic jail sentence they will have a permanent criminal record. The criminal record follows you everywhere. You may not get hired for a job you may want, be able to travel freely, pursue a job in childcare or handling money for instance. To sum up my first point an automatic jail sentence may be a deterrent to stop the census spots of life and injuries due to impaired drivers. People will think of the consequences of being arrested such as criminal records and these will stop the financial burden on our healthcare system.

Secondly, putting people just in jail will not help with their potential alcohol or drug abuse issues. There were more hospital admissions in Canada last year for alcohol related conditions then for heart attacks (CBC News). I believe impaired drivers not only need a mandatory jail sentence but they should also require a proper rehabilitation program to ensure this does not occur again and again. People who drive under the influence do it more than once. One and six people are repeat offenders. These people need help and rehabilitation, as many suffer from chronic abuse. Rehabilitation needs time to be focussed on successful entry back to a sober life. A life without substance abuse that will lead to making a fatal mistake. A jail sentence alone will likely put the offender in a worse position than before they entered jail, as they will leave with a criminal record. 70% of offenders arrive with a history of some level of substance-abuse. Urine analysis of random suggest show that at least 12% of offenders test positive for drug and alcohol at any given time even while Incarcerated. Therefore rehabilitation is much needed to stop the abuse and intern that intoxicated drivers.When offenders have had success in a rehabilitation program they are then able to enter society with a solid sense of direction for their lives in the future. Therefore their brains are no longer in a fog looking for the next fix. Offenders who have the chance for rehabilitation are less likely to relapse by 40% to 60% of people who do not enter rehab.