Women Driving Drunk
Drunk driving has been a problem plaguing law enforcement for decades, and men were usually the culprits. However, the gap between women and men is closing when it comes to driving drunk. A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has shown that more and more women are being arrested for driving under the influence, while the number of male drunk drivers has declined. What has caused this shift in the drunk-driving trend? And more importantly, why are women drinking more than in the past?
Drunk driving is a serious problem and brings with it serious consequences. In 2006, more than 1.6 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics and it is estimated that over 11,000 people died in drunken driving related cases.
Over the past ten years, arrests of women driving under the influence increased by 28.8 percent, bringing the total to 162,493 arrests nationwide in 2007. During this same period, the DUI rate of male drivers decreased by 7.5 percent, although men are still four times more likely to be arrested for drunk driving than women.
The reason behind the increase in female drunk driving incidents may have to do with the role women play in society and how women are portrayed in the media. Television shows consistently depict housewives and young women having cocktails with friends or drinking and dancing at a club, leading a so-called glamorous life. For example, the Cosmopolitan became a household drink after it was featured in the hit television series Sex and the City. Yet, rarely in these shows do you actually see how the women get home or see one act as the designated driver.
Speaking of driving, more women drive now than they did back in the 1970s or 1980s, so it comes as no surprise that as the number of female drivers increase, so do the drunk-driving rates. Another reason more women are being caught intoxicated behind the wheel is that more women are attending college than in previous years. Even though college is a great growth period for young adults both personally and academically, one aspect many coeds may not be prepared for is the social environment, which usually involves heavy drinking.
Many young women, especially inexperienced drinkers, may not realize the affect alcohol has on their bodies and will try to keep up with their drinking peers—both men and women. However, women clear alcohol from their bodies much more slowly than men do, which can often lead them to believe they are not as drunk as they actually are. Women are also more susceptible to develop alcohol-related problems than men, and if they drink heavily as a young adult, drinking may develop into a habit as they mature.
Women absorb alcohol differently than men, and studies have shown that even when the male and female participants consumed the same amount of alcohol during the same period, a woman’s blood-alcohol level was shown to be substantially higher on a breathalyzer machine.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is detrimental not only to the driver, but to everyone else’s on the road. Someone is killed every 40 minutes due to an alcohol-related accident. Don’t let this happen to you or to your loved ones. If you’ve had too much to drink, call a cab or a sober friend. Remember, drinking and driving don’t mix.
