The Language Used to Understand Drunk Driving
“Drunk driving is a major problem throughout much of the world. In 2008, drunk drivers in the United States caused 11,733 deaths. This number represents almost one-third of all traffic-related deaths that year.” (“Drunk Driving”) The issue of drunk driving is one that is widely discussed, examined, and heard about in today’s society. I intend to analyze the rhetoric surrounding drinking and driving using several texts on the issue in order to highlight this existing problem and to better understand the topic of drunk driving, its causes, and harmful effects as a whole.
“Drinking & Driving,” an article by David J. Hanson, Ph.D., is one that discusses some drunk driving statistics including the effects of it, and also gives some prevention tips in hopes of persuading the reader not to drink and drive. Hanson is a retired sociology professor from the State University of New York at Potsdam and a largely known and published alcohol researcher who is recognized in the media as an alcohol expert (Hanson). Hanson’s argument is based mostly on actual facts: facts about the laws in place for drunk driving, facts about the number of deaths and injuries drunk driving causes, facts about the penalties for drunk driving, etc. I think Hanson’s use of evidence makes his argument more credible as it shows that he is not simply basing it off of emotion or passion.
Radley Balko, policy analyst for the libertarian research organization the Cato Institute, is the author of the article “DC Forum: Lower DUI Threshold More Dangerous?” which also discourses about drunk driving. However, Balko argues that such strict laws for drinking and driving are only causing more harm as they cause police officers to spend more time on the non-threatening offenses and less on the life-threatening ones.
“Crash: drunk driving is a matter of life and death” is a magazine article that was published in Current Health Teens, a Weekly Reader publication in 2011. This article, like Hanson’s, focuses on the outcomes of drinking and driving and its mission is also to persuade the audience against drunk driving.
The photograph “Jacqui Poster” was created by the Texas Department of Transportation as a public service announcement against drinking and driving. It features a picture of Jacqueline Saburido, the victim of a drunk driving accident who has been horribly disfigured due to burns along with a picture of her before the accident as a young and healthy woman of twenty years old.
Balko, Radley. “DC Forum: Lower DUI Threshold More Dangerous?” Washington Times 30 Oct. 2005: Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
"Drunk Driving." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library 2010: Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Hanson, David J. “Drinking & Driving.” Alcohol Problems 2007: Gale Opposing Views In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Lewis, Darcy. "Crash: drunk driving is a matter of life and death." Current Health Teens, a Weekly Reader publication Oct. 2011: 6+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Texas Department of Transportation. Jacqui Poster. 2002. Photograph. TxDOT.gov. Texas Department of Transportation, 2009. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
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