Drunk Driving Essay Example for Free

Drunk Driving Essay Driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, drunken driving, drunk driving, drink driving, operating under the influence, drinking and driving, or impaired driving is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit . Similar regulations cover driving or operating certain types of machinery while affected by drinking alcohol or taking other drugs, including, but not limited to prescription drugs. This is a criminal offense in most countries. Convictions do not necessarily involve actual driving of the vehicle. In most jurisdictions a measurement such as a blood alcohol content in excess of a specific threshold level, such as 0.05% or 0.08% defines the offense, with no need to prove impairment or being under the influence of alcohol. In some jurisdictions, there is an aggravated category of the offense at a higher level e.g. 0.12%. In most countries, anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be heavily fined, as in France, in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence. Some jobs have their own rules and BAC limits, for example commercial pilot, and the Federal Railroad Administration has a 0.04% limit for train crew. Some jurisdictions have multiple levels of BAC; for example, the state of California has a 0.08% BAC limit, which is lowered to 0.04% if the operator holds a commercial drivers license. The California BAC limit is 0.01% for those younger than 21 years of age and those on probation for a previous DUI conviction. Some large corporations have their own rules; Union Pacific Railroad has their own BAC limit of 0.02% that, if violated during a random test or a for-cause test — for example, after a traffic accident — can result in termination of employment with no chance of future re-hire. Many states in the U.S. and provinces in Canada have adopted truth in sentencing laws that enforce strict guidelines on sentencing, differing from previous practice where prison time was reduced or suspended after sentencing had been issued. Some jurisdictions have judicial guidelines requiring a mandatory minimum sentence. The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving under the influence, driving under intense influence, driving while intoxicated, operating under the influence operating while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge . Many such laws apply also to motorcycling, boating, piloting aircraft, use of motile farm equipment such as tractors and combines, riding horses or driving a horse-drawn vehicle, or bicycling, possibly with different BAC level than driving. In some jurisdictions there are separate charges depending on the vehicle used, such as BWI, which may carry a lighter sentence. In the United States, local law enforcement agencies made 1,467,300 arrests nationwide for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1996, compared to 1.9 million such arrests during the peak year in 1983. In 1997 an estimated 513,200 DWI offenders were in prison or jail, down from 593,000 in 1990 and up from 270,100 in 1986. Blood alcohol level With the advent of a scientific test for blood alcohol content, enforcement regimes moved to pinning culpability for the offense to strict liability based on driving while having more than a prescribed amount of blood alcohol, although this does not preclude the simultaneous existence of the older subjective tests. BAC is most conveniently measured as a simple percent of alcohol in the blood by weight. Research shows an exponential increase of the relative risk for a crash with a linear increase of BAC as shown in the illustration. BAC does not depend on any units of measurement. In Europe it is usually expressed as milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. However, 100 milliliters of blood weighs essentially the same as 100 milliliters of water, which weighs precisely 100 grams. Thus, for all practical purposes, this is the same as the simple dimensionless BAC measured as a percent. The per mille measurement, which is equal to ten times the percentage value, is used in Nor way, Sweden and Finland. The validity of the testing equipment/methods and mathematical relationships for the measurement of breath and blood alcohol have been criticized. Driving while consuming alcohol may be illegal within a jurisdiction. In some it is illegal for an open container of an alcoholic beverage to be in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle or in some specific area of that compartment. Drivers have been convicted even when they were not observed driving if it could be safely concluded they had been driving while intoxicated. Within the American system, citation for driving under the influence also causes a major spike in car insurance premiums – 94.1% in the first year, and still 63.5% higher by the third year. The German model serves to reduce the number of accidents by identifying unfit drivers and removing them from until their fitness to drive has been established again. The Medical Psychological Assessment works for a prognosis of the fitness for drive in future, has an interdisciplinary basic approach and offers the chance of individual rehabilitation to the offender. George Smith, a London taxi driver, was the first person to be convicted of drunk driving, on 10 September 1897. He was fined 25 shillings, which is equivalent to  £71.33 in 2005 pounds. Field sobriety testing Historically, guilt was established by observed driving symptoms, such as weaving; administering field sobriety tests, such as a walking a straight line heel-to-toe or standing on one leg for 30 seconds; and the arresting officers subjective opinion of impairment. The officer must correctly perform the Field Sobriety Tests that are approved by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration . The US Department of Transportation explains the Field Sobriety Test as, a battery of three tests administered and evaluated in a standardized manner to obtain validated indicators of impairment and establish probable cause for arrest. Starting with the introduction in Norway in 1936 of the world’s first per se law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body, objective chemical tests have gradually supplanted the earlier purely judgmental ones. Limits for chemical tests are specific for blood alcohol concentration or concentration of alcohol in breath. Drunk driving law by country The laws relating to drunk driving vary between countries and varying blood alcohol content is allowed before a conviction is made. Comparison with cell phone use Studies show that cell phone use is comparable to driving while intoxicated in rate of increase of likelihood of causing an accident, yet is not even illegal in many locations. This comparison has led users of alcohol to question why DWI should be illegal, and others to consider making cell phone use while driving illegal. The penalties where this is done are never commensurate with the penalties for DWI. Texting while driving is very dangerous, as it takes eyes off the road for an average 4.6 seconds at a time. When laws against drunk driving were implemented in the United States in 2000, fatalities due to drunk driving increased, as was predicted by opponents.

Investiture Controversy Essay -- Church, Pope Gregory VII

The ruler Otto controlled the church during his reign by making bishops and abbots royal princes and agents to him (425). The revival of the church however, began as the German empire weakened in the eleventh century (425). During this time, the Church declared its independence from the governments’ control by embracing a reform movement, The Cluny Reform Movement (425). The reform established at the Cluny monastary in France, aimed at â€Å"freeing the church from secular political influence and control† (425). The reformers were supported in their efforts by popular respect for the church as people admired clerics and monks (425). During this time, any man had the opportunity to become Pope; the Pope was supposed to be elected by the people and clergy of Rome (425). The church also promised a better life to peoples whose current was relatively harsh (425). The reformers condemned the state’s contemporary mixing of religions and secular institutions as well as t he clergy’s subservience to royal authority (425). They taught that the Pope alone commanded the clergy and they demanded separa...

Media events as holidays of mass communication

The authors introduced media events as â€Å"the holidays of mass communication.† They introduced the topic to the readers by citing recent examples of what can be treated as media events. From a general overview of the nature of such events, the authors then move towards providing the readers with a view of what can be liked to media events. As such, they described media events as â€Å"television ceremonies† or â€Å"festive televisions†, thereby pointing out that media events resemble the main characteristics of being festive, being akin to a celebration, and much more like that of a very big event for the mass media. After providing the readers an overview of the description of media events through finding events that have features akin to such, the authors then set the grounds for the detailed description and analysis on the nature of media events. Such was done through the establishment of the nature of television genres. So as to provide the readers a clear delineation of the uniqueness of television from the other media tools, the authors introduced the concept of television genres. The authors pointed out that in the same way that films and print publications are classified, television shows also have their own genres. However, the ways by which the genres of the movies and print publications are classified, differ from the pattern that television genre classification follows. Television genres are not classified according to those features used in film genre classifications such as themes, plots, cinematography, setting, characterizations, and other elements present in the film.   However, as stated by Newcomb, the first person to attempt to classify television genre, â€Å"television as a medium imposes an element of familism on each of the genres which it has inherited from the other media of popular culture.† Despite such characteristic however, the classification process for television genres does not also follow the genre categorization followed by print publications such as the text, the angle of the story, and so on. As such, among the mentioned classifications of the television genre which the authors mentioned are the news and the soap operas. In the later part of their article however, the authors discuss the nature of media events in relation with its similarities and difference from news and the soap opera. The first difference of media event from other television, as cited by the authors was the fact that media events are not routine. They are not akin to the broadcast news shows where a specific pattern is followed as to when the television anchors will appear and report and which segments will come after another. In the case of media events, they comprise a wide range of events- it may be a wedding of a Royal prince, an impeachment trial of the President, the death of a prominent star, or any significant event that may demand utmost attention and interest from the public. Also, media events are delivered as spontaneous events were anything can happen. The authors also cited that media events demand and receive focused attention. They described media events as akin to an ultimate â€Å"life shocker or stopper†, where the media men will somehow dedicate their time and effort to a single event while the rest of the news- whatever relevant event that can be considered as such- will be taken as a secondary priority. As such, media events are also described as something which will then demand the attention of the public as well. Also, the authors pointed out that media events interrupt the routine and they intervene with the normal flow of broadcasting. They cited examples where the normal line of shows was altered so as to give way to the broadcasting of media events. Such act then emphasizes the importance of the media events over the other television genres. This characteristic of media events is then overemphasized when in some cases; regular broadcasting is ultimately suspended so as to cater to the media events. Another important feature of media events that the authors pointed out was the fact that such are delivered in a monopolistic manner most of the time. As such, one can be able to determine that something is a media event when its broadcasting invades all the television channels. Media events are also unique because, as the authors stated, they happen live and the events are transmitted as they occur. This presents a major difference from news and other television shows such as soap operas where the show is recorded. The authors also point out that media events call for outside reporting. By this, we mean that mass communication is delivered from a different venue- depended of the media event itself. As such it is delivered not from the usual studies where mass communication is much controlled and monitored. However, it contrast of its being unique, the authors also site a feature which makes it similar to the other genres- the fact that media events are often pre-planned. This means that the events are announced and advertised before it actually happens. Overall however, the authors note that the main differences of the media events are the fact that they are presented with reverence and ceremony. In this case, we can see that the authors failed to mention the relevance of such unique characteristics- what does these attributes mean, and what are its impact to the viewers and to the whole mass media industry as well. However, the authors made important notes to ponder as they stated why such television genre should attain academic attention. Among the many reasons they have stated are as follows: a. Media events attract large audiences. Since the media events are delivered in a way that is highly interest catching, the viewers cannot resist but be attached to such. However, there are some points when the fact that it has large audiences makes the event qualify as a media event. Regardless of this chicken-egg scenario however, media events should be studied because it provides impending effects on a large group of public viewers. b. Media events make us realize the potential of electronic media technology. As stated earlier, media events are delivered outside the studio, they are also not routine and as such, they serve as a challenge not only for the media personnel but for the mass media technology as well. Such moments test the efficiency and the limits of such. c. Media events make us realize that the media has the power to form its own social network. The ability to form a unique social network is seen as more and more people are inclined to be part of the media event. This social network does not only involve the mass media personnel and the actual attendees of the event, rather it involves all of those who get hooked to their televisions just to watch the media event. d. Media events interrupt our life patterns. By life patterns, we mean not only that of the usual television shows, but the routines in the lives of the viewers. Instead of going to social parties or watching movies, or playing golf, the viewers who get glued to watch media events does otherwise from their planned day to day activities. e. Media events show the art of journalism and television broadcasting. Such events give everyone the glimpse of journalism and broadcasting not just at work, but as challenged. These events how the mechanics of true journalism and demand the most of it as well. f. Media events give the people a view of the past and the future. By this, we mean that media events sometimes demand an elaborated check on the past so as to find historical links to the important event. Aside from that however, media events also allow us to assess the development of television, in accordance to its relevance to the life of the television viewing society. Overall, the authors introduced the nature of media events by linking it with other events that we are more familiar with. After the overview, a through description of media events is delivered as its similarities and differences to other television genres are explored. Towards the end, the authors then establish the importance of media events and the need to study such. References: Dayan, Daniel and Katz, Elihu. Media Events: The Live Broadcasting of History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992) Media Event. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000)

The Functions of a Medieval Castle Essay - 1295 Words

The building of a castle was a monumental task; it required many laborers and took many years to complete. When a lord had decided to build a castle, he would hire a Master Builder to design and build the castle. He would choose a design for the castle. The castle was meant to be the fortress of the lord so it had to be strong. Castles had many different types of defense to protect the Lord and his family. The many types of defense that castles had meant that those attacking had to develop ever more strategic and powerful ways to attack the castle. When the King or Lord had decided to build his castle, he would hire a Master Builder to design the castle and to hire the laborers for the building of the castle. Construction of the new†¦show more content†¦It was also protected by wooden Palisades (walls) and a moat (14-15). The wood would eventually rot and have to be replaced. The wood could also be burned during attacks (16). Later they began to build castles using stone. Th ese stone castles took many years to complete (13). In the beginning only the keeps were changed to stone and kept the same square layout (18). Eventually it was found that the square corners were a weak spot in the design and changed to a rounded profile (Jarrow 29). Later the wooden walls were changed to stone. The new curtain walls were much larger. They were often between fifteen and thirty-five feet tall, and six to nine feet thick. Though some were built much larger (19). Third, the castle was also the home of lords, nobles, and kings. This is why castles had to be built strong enough to with stand days of constant battering, or months of blockade. The strongest part of the castle was the keep. The lord and his family lived in the keep that was usually on top of a motte (Jarrow 15). In the keep is where the lord and his family would eat, sleep, and store supplies and weapons (Jarrow 15). 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