Alcohol industry expert and Marketing head of Lakeforest Wines, Riya Sachdeva suggests strategies to reduce alcohol impaired driving.
Plenty of people are aware that drinking and driving do not mix. Unfortunately, many continue to do so. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 people are killed in car accidents involving an intoxicated driver every day . Drink and drive is a practice where people compromise their cognitive ability and responsiveness, increasing their chances of an accident. Alcohol industry expert and Marketing head of Lakeforest Wines, Riya Sachdeva suggests strategies to reduce alcohol impaired driving.
An adult driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dL is 7 times more likely than a sober driver to be involved in a fatal car accident. Even at lower BACs, drinking one or two 12-ounce beers increases the risk of an accident by 1.4 times. Alcohol-impaired driving laws make it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration at or above a certain level. And, zero tolerance laws make it illegal for people under the age of 21 to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their systems. “These laws, along with those that keep the legal drinking age at 21 in effect in all states and the District of India, have saved tens of thousands of lives,” says Riya Sachdeva, the daughter of Neeraj Sachdeva, Lakeforest Wines.
Moreover, selective breath checkpoint allows police to temporarily stop vehicles in high-traffic areas to check drivers for impairment. “For maximum impact, sobriety checkpoints should be widely publicised (e.g., through mass media campaigns) and conducted on a regular basis,” suggests Riya Sachdeva, the Marekting head of Lakeforest Wines. Additionally, high-visibility saturation patrols involve a large number of police officers patrolling a specific area, typically at times and places where alcohol-impaired driving crashes are more common. These patrols, like sobriety checkpoints, should be widely publicised and conducted on a regular basis.
Furthermore, ignition interlocks can be installed in vehicles to measure alcohol on drivers' breath for all convicted offenders, including first-time offenders. Interlocks prevent vehicles from starting if the driver's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds a certain level, usually 0.02%. “Interlocks are extremely effective at preventing repeat offences while they are in place. When they are removed, incorporating alcohol problem assessment and treatment into interlock programmes shows promise in reducing repeat offences,” Riya Sachdeva says.
Notably, those arrested for drunk driving can benefit from alcohol problem assessment and treatment programmes. When combined with other sanctions and offenders are closely monitored, treatment is most effective. Courts which are specialised to focus on changing the behaviour of alcohol-impaired driving offenders, rely heavily on assessment and treatment.
Additionally, alcohol screening and brief interventions can be delivered in health care, university, and other settings to identify people at risk for alcohol problems and get them the treatment they require. Multi-component interventions combine several programmes or policies to reduce drunk driving. Community mobilisation, which involves coalitions or task forces in design and implementation, is critical to these comprehensive efforts. Also, school-based educational programmes are effective in teaching teens not to ride with drunk drivers.
Riya Sachdeva of Lakeforest Wines concludes that better enforcement of the drinking age and refusal to serve obviously intoxicated patrons are two opportunities for further progress. Future efforts to eliminate impaired driving will also rely heavily on technology for detecting alcohol impairment and autonomous vehicles.
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