Drinking and Revoking Driving License

A person may be justified to say that alcoholics should be denied a driver's license for several years until they prove to be sober. This is because driving under the influence of alcohol is very dangerous. High concentration of alcohol in blood increases the chances of causing car accidents: as a mater of fact, drug abuse including alcoholism is the main cause of vehicular deaths and injuries (Valle, 1996). Many people have lost their lives on the roads because of driving under the influence of alcohol. According to Valle, drunkard drivers deserve severe punishment such as revoking their licenses since they do not only risk their lives, but they also jeopardize those of the people they carry, other drivers and pedestrians using the road.

Deaths and injuries resulting from drunk driving is something that can be fully prevented. Despite the fact that there has been a marked reduction in the number of road accidents over a decade there is need to prevent the still remaining accidents. Drivers are usually warned that they should not drive while drunk but they still go ahead and drive. As a result, many people are negatively affected (Oberman and Taylor, 2006). Innocent people and families loose their loved ones on the road, something that could have been avoided in the initial stage. This is the reason drunk driving remains a national problem for many countries.

Oberman and Taylor (2006) have noted that in the United States, there are two types of offences that one is judged with when he is found driving under the influence of alcohol. These offenses are referred to as DUI or DWI (driving under the influence or driving while impaired or intoxicated). Oberman and Taylor further noted that one might be prosecuted for "illegal per se" meaning that one was driving with a blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of more than 0.08g/dl. Statistics reveals that over 50% of all accidents that occurred in 1980s were as a result of drunk driving. This number has remarkably reduced to about 30% alcohol related cases in 2008 (Oberman and Taylor, 2006). All these accidents can be prevented and that is the reason one is justified to say that drunk drivers should be confiscated their driving license.

If the government and the relevant authorities really value the lives of people, then revoking and denying drunkard drivers driving licenses would not be taken as an alternative but a basic requirement until they can prove that they can keep off alcohol while driving.