Drunk Driving

In this annotation bibliography I have critically analyzed the concept of driving under the influence (DUI). It is commonly referred to as drunk driving whereby the driver takes alcohol or any other form of drug such as heroine beyond the statue limit and ends up driving. This translates to lots of reckless and traumatizing accidents experienced in various parts of the world.

Driving as an activity needs sober minds in order to bring sanity and enhance safety on our roads thus ensuring human life is guaranteed positive destiny at the long run. It quite vivid that lots of lives have been lost due to reckless driving that comes as a result of the influence of either alcohol or hard drugs. The reality about impaired drinking is purely based on the well being of human life and other properties in the world. The big deal is ensuring that all is well on our roads.

In fact, marijuana is rampantly used in many parts of the world especially in the United States of America. People have taken it to the streets in the name of wanting the drug be legalized in order to give them opportunities of enjoying and abusing the drug. This is evidenced by the huge number of people who tend to confess and admit that they consume marijuana in one way or another. As much as the compact majority may perceive it to be more of a stimulant, the fact remains that it is equally dangerous as alcohol especially when it comes to driving. The drug delays some of the body and brain responses hence creating high euphoric situations that bring distractions to drivers thus putting them at high risks of causing accidents (Toney 2012).

Morrison, K. (2009). Driving under the influence, DUI state law. Denver, CO: Colorado Legislative Council.

The THC content in marijuana deters the normal brain functions and even tampers with the ability of someone to have a clear memory of the situation at hand. All these will lead to deadly poor decision making and drawing judgments which renders drivers, passenger and even pedestrians vulnerable to serious injuries or death. Cognitive studies reveal that cannabis sativa has got a tremendous effect on the human brain. It tampers with the brain circuitry that is very much vital for any human sober activity such as driving. Driving safety is purely based on the sober mind which can draw or make a critical decision when shit is most likely to happen. For example in case of an accident the driver might be in a position to help where possible at least to ensure the human life is safe. (Morrison 2009). But unfortunately a good number of young people are much into these drugs hence making their judgment capacity to be very poor thus experiencing lots of deaths and injuries as a result of reckless driving under the influence of cannabis sativa. Equally, the cannabis users end up dying in most accidents as compared to non cannabis consumers.

The Meta analysis studies normally lead to impairment in all performance fields by interfering with sight, motor coordination and impairment concentrations. The psychomotor skills tend to impaired hence making it difficult for one to maintain the attention that is highly needed especially during driving. For instance the attention to traffic rules in terms of speed, traffic lights among many others that promote and enhance sanity on our roads (Morrison 2009) especially in the cases of Colorado.

Richer, I., & Bergeron, J. (2009). Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis: Links With Dangerous Driving, Psychological Predictors, and Accident Involvement. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 41(2), 299-307.

Further, it time perception and acquired skills become difficult to manage because of high consumption of these hard drugs that end up causing nightmares to most drivers. According to Richer and Bergeron, cannabis links badly with the issue of driving because of what it brings at the long run. But it will be better enough if the governments will implement tough measures upon the usage of such hard drugs and driving. Punishments should be applied in order to minimize the number of accident cases reported out of the consumption of cannabis. (Richer & Bergeron 2009)

Alcohol has been one of the major contributors of accidents in the world. According to the statistics taken and reports collected it is quite vivid that alcohol consumption is very rampart in all spheres of different disciplines. Worst enough is that the young generation has sorted into drinking in the name of doing away with stress which arises as a result of individual problems. While others just take liquor in terms of enjoyment and having fun hence, to some point the entire game of consumption turns out to be a deadly thing to hear or see. Drivers with high alcohol blood concentration are at risk to cause lots of accidents that may result to deaths, injuries and other forms of destructions.

In fact, drinking interferes with the drivers reasoning hence, rendering him or her vulnerable to accidents. It stimulates the brain thus making drivers to make poor judgments which bears the deadly impact felt and seen on our roads. Social problems are contributors of drinking especially for the young people. They normally think that by sorting into drinking their problems will be solved but surprisingly, the fact remains that drinking especially the heavy one leads to destruction and irreversible situations in life which might be realized in the long run maybe after accidents have occurred and lives lost and further, massive damages experienced.

Impinen, A. et al (2009). Substance Use As A Predictor Of Driving Under The Influence (DUI) Rearrests. A 15-Year Retrospective Study. Traffic Injury Prevention, 10(3), 220-226.

Drinking is purely lethal and cannot work in collaboration because of its impacts in driving. As per the statistics taken, it has been realized that alcoholic drinks are very dangerous and not healthy enough to contain the situation on our roads. In fact, when the blood alcohol content reaches 0.08 muscle coordination becomes very poor hence, interfering with hearing, speed and balance. This will be very hard to control the vehicle in case of danger or any emergence. Psychomotor performance is equally intoxicated as it reduces the ability of coordination and response to dynamic driving situations. Basically, alcoholic drinks are not favorable during driving because of the above discussed factors. However, the act of drinking and driving may be reduced if the law takes its full force and entire world being involved in the vigilance programs of ensuring safety of humanity. (Impinen et al 2009). Some of the fines levied on the driving under the influencing may sound biased but the fact remains that there is no biasness and instead the government is trying to curb the impacts of reckless driving that result from the consumption of alcoholic drinks and other hard drugs.

Other drugs such as cocaine have heavily contributed to lots of brain damages that have resulted to accidents in most parts of the world. Many prescription drugs equally have got an impact in the entire machinery industry such as motor vehicle operations. For instances those prescribed for sleep might be taken in order to relax the mind but it end up interfering with the human brain hence, translating to sleepy moments even during driving. This will be fatal because of what might happen if the vehicle loses control. According to (Impinen et al 2009) substance use really discourages the importance of employing road rules and regulations especially when the situation is seemingly out of control and massive destruction is experienced. The 15 year study about of substance usage especially in the United States of America.

Maxwell, J. et al (2009). Too Young To Drink But Old Enough To Drive Under The Influence: A Study Of Underage Offenders As Seen In Substance Abuse Treatment In Texas. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 104(1-2), 107-112.

Maxwell and other authors conducted a study to elaborate on the drug abuse scenario and its effects on driving especially with the young people based on the city of Texas in the United States of America. It is discouraging that most young people have sorted to drinking while at the tender ages hence, making them feel they are old enough to carry out driving while drunk. From these studies have it has been realized that most drug addicts have been the young people and during the accidents they suffer the most risks of survival.

Both alcohol and drug abuse are the prolific challenges that young people are undergoing through that have rendered them in dens of death. However, the governments need to set up strict Other drugs such as cocaine have heavily contributed to lots of brain damages that have resulted to accidents in most parts of the world. Many prescription drugs equally have got an impact in the entire machinery industry such as motor vehicle operations. For instances those prescribed for sleep might be taken in order to relax the mind but it end up interfering with the human brain hence, translating to sleepy moments even during driving. This will be fatal because of what might happen if the vehicle loses control.

According to (Impinen et al 2009) substance use really discourages the importance of employing road rules and regulations especially when the situation is seemingly out of control and massive destruction is experienced. The 15 year study about of substance usage especially in the United States of America.

Maxwell, J. et al (2009). Too Young To Drink But Old Enough To Drive Under The Influence: A Study Of Underage Offenders As Seen In Substance Abuse Treatment In Texas. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 104(1-2), 107-112.

Maxwell and other authors conducted a study to elaborate on the drug abuse scenario and its effects on driving especially with the young people based on the city of Texas in the United States of America. It is discouraging that most young people have sorted to drinking while at the tender ages hence, making them feel they are old enough to carry out driving while drunk. From these studies have it has been realized that most drug addicts have been the young people and during the accidents they suffer the most risks of survival.

Both alcohol and drug abuse are the prolific challenges that young people are undergoing through that have rendered them in dens of death. However, the governments need to set up strict.

Alcoholism is an obsession with alcohol or liquor in the need of having the substance on the daily basis without controlling to stop. A person with this disorder does not know when or how to discontinue the substance of alcohol. They occupy most of their time thinking about the alcohol, which they cannot control how much they have consumed even if it is causing the person to have serious breakdowns at work, home, financially or family.

Some people do not see the damages of alcohol it can cause to the body. Alcohol abuses damage most organs in the body especially the liver, kidney, and brain. The chemicals change to the brain that leads to addiction may also cause harm to memory and cognition. Throughout the drinking process, there is a short-time side effect of drinking too much, the beginning of the first few sips of an alcoholic drink can lead to a relieving feeling. The substance of alcohol can make people without anxiety or stress feel relaxed. After a while, the body gets accustomed to drinking. Which might cause dehydration, slurred speech, changes to vision including blurry vision, slowed brain activity, nausea, or a hangover the next day. After continuing, it causes alcohol poisoning that causes confusion, memory loss, slowed or irregular breathing or seizures.

To a certain type of people, who have drunk too much or too fast and have consumed high doses of alcohol in the system it causes you to have a blackout. A blackout is a loss of memory and it is a cause of a rapid increase in blood alcohol levels. Even, though you might not know when a person is having a blackout due because they can act normal. People who blackout may drive themselves home, destroy property from where they at, spend too much money, engage in sexual activity, or choose or accept risky behaviors without knowing what they are or about to do. Young adults are a greater risk of having a blackout than older adults. While women are greater to have a blackout than men.

Alcohol can effect on neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry messages to/from the brain) there are three classifications GABA, dopamine, and endorphins. GABA is responsible for reducing quick-temperedness in the brain, this is why people have problems with walking, talking, and remembering things that occurred later. Having high GABA levels can cause complications of shortness breath, high blood pressure or increased heart rate. Furthermore, dopamine is another neurotransmitter that has to do with releasing feeling pleasure. After dopamine, the brain believes alcohol used to be rewarding and to become an addiction. Also, endorphins must with the central nervous system released by the body to work against physical pain. Having high endorphins levels can Caused to have depression or lower sex drive because of the nervous system not functioning correctly.

More to it parts of the brain can be damaged because of the substance of alcohol. These parts of the brain: the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, reticular activating system nervous, blood vessels and medulla which it could be the danger if one of these stops functioning. The ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex the connections of reward system or regular impulsive behavior while blood vessel at the intoxicating level it can shrink and increase blood pressure or begin with migraines headaches. The medulla controls breathing and neurons have to do with nerve cells, hippocampus the part of the brain that saves up information (Alcohol and Your Brain) or memories and the reticular activating system in the middle of the brain that controls the sleeping and the walking. If one of these stops functioning you are not able to react as the normal person would.

The percentage of alcohol use disorder is rising each year. “12.7 percent of the U.S. population meets the diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder according to the study.” In the U.S. adults, ages eighteen and up (ages 18+) 8.4 percent of men in adults have an alcohol use disorder. 4.2 percent of women in adults have an alcohol use disorder. In adolescent ages, twelve to seventeen (ages 12-17) 2.3 percent of males and 2.7 percent of women have an alcohol use disorder.

Stopping the use of alcohol or seeking help to stop drinking alcohol might not sound easy for some of us. There are many ways to treat alcoholism. Once you have the thought of reaching for help is a big decision for a person to do in their life. Or even accepting the fact that you have become an alcoholic is a big step in life. We sometimes tend to skip the fact of what we have become. But before starting on a method to help treat alcoholism you should comprehend the various services each program offers. For instance, there is alcohol detox, inpatient rehab or alcohol counseling and much more. About 6.7 percent of adults who had AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder) has received treatment. 5.2 percent of youth who had AUD has received treatment.

The latest statistics on accidents 2015 about 10,265 people died in alcohol-related crashes throughout the U.S. The states of Texas about 1,323 deaths occurred with the substance of alcohol in the system. Also, with drunk driving 29 percent of accidents of American’s fatal traffic Texas is the highest 38 percent of all traffic fatalities. Most of the causes of the accident are caused by young adults around the ages of the early twenties to early thirties. Each year the accidents caused by drunk drivers are being higher than in other years.

Alcohol can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia which cause the brain to lose important details or forgetting things. One of the ways to have Alzheimer or dementia is caused by the alcohol because it kills brain cells, which parts of the brains stop functioning reaching to have the risk of dementia or Alzheimer either in the future or causing it within the time you consume the alcohol. Alcohol might be a good beverage for a night but be aware of the consequences if you have it on an everyday basis.

Self-driving car is like a robotic or an autonomous car where the car goes on autopilot on the roads with little human intervention. They are equipped with different kinds of sensors to make them aware of their surroundings, in turn making them smarter. They also use artificial intelligence to accomplish this task. They have many of sensors which help them to be wary of their surroundings. They include radars, cameras, GPS, ultrasonic sensors, so on and so forth. These sensors help them to navigate to user’s preferred destination and avoid obstacles on the way.

Artificial intelligence is the principal concept that is powering the car enabling it to become selfless. Machine learning along with neural networks use image recognition to develop systems that can enable a true robotic car. Neural networks are used to identify the surroundings by identifying the patterns in the data fed by the image recognition software captured through cameras. Its trained to identify surroundings like humans, animals, trees, signals, so on and so forth that are essential for driving on a road.

Ex: Google’s self driving waymo uses Lidar and sonars to train the neural net about the surroundings and also predict the future movements of those surroundings. The more the system gets trained the more it identifies its surroundings.

It functions just as a human body where we have a brain telling us what to do in each situation, the car has AI which tells it to steer, brake or accelerate that is assisted by GPS, which uses satellite to pinpoint the position of the car.

Hence we can observe that the system is continuously learning through the neural net and equipping itself with the knowledge required for self driving from the past few years, getting better than their predecessors with time.

The benefits of automated driving are many. Here are few of them:

• Fewer Accidents

The leading cause of today’s accidents is driver error. Drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs, underage driving, inattentiveness, so on and so forth all contribute to accidents. Majority of the accidents is due to human error, Hence autonomous driving, if implemented, significantly reduces the rate of accidents. A study online has also found out that if 10 percent of the cars are autonomous, then 210,000 accidents will be avoided annually.

• Decreased traffic congestion

There will be less traffic congestion as there will be less human error and the traffic will flow freely with the required spacing between the cars.

• Welfare

Automated cars could reduce labour costs, reduce driving time and hence provide more time to the person for leisure or work. It provides enhanced mobility for the young, old, and for people with disabilities

• Increased parking space

Automated driving vehicles can be continuously used rather than being stationary for an extended period of time. For example, in Los Angeles, 14% of the land is used for parking alone,[118] equivalent to some 17,020,594 square meters.

The following are the three components that I think represented unproven technology at the time of the space shuttle’s development.

Space Shuttle Engine. The space shuttle or the Orbitter is connected externally to a large fuel tank powering 3 main engines and 2 rocket boosters. Here each engine produces about 400,000 pounds of pressure. These engines were not made to be reusable. Those engines were designed to disintegrate after the engine delivering the burst of thrust. The engine had to be designed for the heavy load and a highly efficient cooling system had to be implemented for smooth operation. This was unproved at that point of time.

Avionics flight control software. During the development of the space shuttle, a new software component was developed to the run the control algorithms on a set of 32-bit processors. The Shuttle was the most complex flying machine ever built and required sophisticated software to ensure a successful operation. The software was responsible for the flight to be directed to the destination and back. It was also the main component during landing and takeoff. The number of lines increased drastically with each function of the shuttle and since this was the main controlling factor during take off and landing. There was a lot of concerns on this part of the shuttle. Since it was not proven before , This was unheard of during the development of space shuttle.

Thermal protection system. A space shuttle’s reentry into earth’s atmosphere is one of the most dangerous part of the mission because the temperature generated due to the friction.

In the initial development, NASA was counting thermal protection tiles. Everyone was familiar with creating a body made of aluminum for a space shuttle but not with thermal tiles. Hence it was still unproven at that time. NASA was confident about the thermal tiles. They were told that it could withstand the heat that was generated. After carrying out a number of tests they decided to use it on the shuttle. Hence this was one of the technologies that was unused at that time.

In 1620 alcohol was heavily used. Some believe that is why “Columbus” discovered America, when really, he was in search of “grog” which is a beer like substance. In 1790 is when Happy Hour began which was roughly around three at the time or when men got out of work. Around the 1850’s is when alcohol was prohibited because it drove the men from work and made a terrible amount of trouble for society. In 1887 the prohibition law was enacted and focused primarily on speakeasys as well as those who still tried to partake in drinking. A bit after prohibition came these “speakeasys”. Speakeasys flourished in 1922. These were hidden clubs and bars that illegally sold alcohol during these “hard” times. In 1933 prohibition was lifted. In 1939 Alcoholics Anonymous published its first book. In 1980 Mothers against drunk driving was created. In 2000 it was determined driving with a .08 was considered intoxicated.

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and there for has sedative/hypnotic or anesthetic effects. Drug dose response relationship are important as they asses the efficiency of a substance as well as the potency. As an example, for some with the rate of alcohol increasing aggression can also increase. Patterns are used to examine incidents of violent behavior. People with a sedative dependency often create a tolerance for the drugs and have to take larger and larger doses in order to relax. Because of these patterns’ agitation, withdrawal, and the inability to sleep increase. The curvature of this sedative hypnotic curve is that with the increase of alcohol the more sedative and anesthetic response the individual will have. Which in turn can create bad behaviors and hurt loved ones. As dependence increases so does withdrawal and aggression.

The cross patterns The Disease or Medical Concept of Alcoholism describes alcohol as a chronic disease. Alcoholism is a disease in the sense that over time there are neurological or functional changes that happen as a result of heavy and progressive drinking. The DSM V describes alcohol in stages dependent upon how it impacts daily activities. For instance, is drinking interfering with home life and family? Caused job troubles or school problems? These are forms of alcohol abuse.

Alcohol dependency is determined to be drinking excessive amounts to reach “the buzz” you desire, tried to cut down on drinking but could not commit, continued to drink despite the negative effects associated with the substance. Both of these types of abuse and dependency are definitions of the DSM V model. Cross patterns are when life bleeds into dependency habits which form unhealth life style choices/patterns. These patterns can be simple things such as coming home drunk and having a routine of how they sober up. For instance, coming home to the family drunk and expecting to be taken care of after a period of drinking. This type of definition focuses on selfishness and dependency on others.

The American Medical Association (AMA) declared addiction to alcohol a disease. This is due to the fact that it can impair human function. The AMA declared that this substance causes disease because it comes in stages. First is primary, which can be defined that there is a presence of alcohol and an illness is in existence. Next is progressive meaning it will get worse over time if not treated. After progressive is symptomatic, which is how a person’s physiological and behavioral lifestyle is affected by alcohol and how it manifests in the individual. After symptomatic is chronic and lately fatal. Once an individual hits chronic fatality is inevitable.

An alcoholic relapse is a return to compulsive pursuit and consumption of alcohol after an attempt at sobriety. Without correct support an individual will be more likely to relapse. With family or professional support an individual is less likely to have a slip and will be able to focus on sobriety without reverting back to nasty habits. There are three types of relapse, emotional, mental, and physical. Emotional is the act of suppressing emotions, blaming others and developing poor coping mechanisms which in turn can put someone back in the comforting arms of dependence. Mental relapse is associated wit cravings and the overall missing and desire for alcohol. Lastly is physical, which involves slipping and returning to sites that hold other patrons of bars who will encourage the bad habits.

Alcoholism affects not only the individual but the family as a whole. Once Mom or Dada start drinking (or both), the responsibility of the family shifts. For example, Dr. Metz mentioned that he once counseled a young boy whose father when drunk would pull into the driveway at an angle indicating he was not sober. However, when he was sober, he’d pull in like normal. When the boy saw the father’s car askew, he would run and hide from his abusive dad. Once an hour had passed the boy would then sneak to his father’s car and let the air out of the tires to prevent his dad from getting killed in a drunk driving accident. This was a child but had taken on the responsibility of an adult. With this type of responsibility, the abusive behaviors, and long nights it affected the boy’s mental health and performance in school.

Intervention is a structured attempt made by the family and friends of an individual with an addiction to point out their bad behaviors and destructive attitudes towards their loved ones. For an intervention to be successful, the participants need to become one strong unit in order to combat the addiction. At the end of the day, its not the family member they hate; it’s the booze. Each participant makes a journal of each time they felt degraded, embarrassed, hurt, or less than. Before the family meets face to face with the individual to speak about these issues the family goes through the steps of how the intervention may pan out when the alcoholic individual is in the room.

Family and friends must separate themselves and not allow the individual to speak until the session is over. When the real intervention comes into play and all parties are there, an open discussion starts. At the end, if the individual cannot give up the substance then the family will provide a bottom line. This “bottom line” could be, “if you don’t stop, the locks will be changed on the door”. If the individual promises to change then they will immediately go for treatment as an inpatient. However, if the refuse, then the family has no other choice but to remove them indefinitely until their behavior has changed.

Alpha alcoholism is the earliest stage of disease. This stage is dependent on psychological components and can be described as the “problem drinker” whose drinking creates social problems. Beta alcoholism includes cirrhosis of the liver without physical or psychological dependence. These drinkers partake nearly every day. Gamma alcoholism is the loss of control. This individual would need Alcoholics Anonymous due to the physical and psychological dependence.

Epsilon alcoholism can be known as binge drinking and is known as one of the most advanced stages. These stages are periodic and can manifest as dipsomania. Lastly is Zeta, is the abusive drinker. This individual will become addicted to alcohol and is a “mean drunk” in the eyes of friends and family. The unilateral approach is centered around changing the behavior and reaching out to an alcoholic through the work of a mediator/therapist. I believe that the early stages such as alpha, beta, and gamma would benefit from this type of intervention. All three of these alcoholics are centered around selfish behaviors that could be fixed with the correct amount of support and care. Multivariate is centered around those who are neurotic and egotistical. Epsilon and zeta both target others while the rest are focused on self-destruction. Multivariate treatment exposes the insecurities of neurotic drunks and shows what their selfishness and drinking does to those around them.