Crash Site, Final Report

While visiting the police I was able to learn different statistics, what will happen to me if I'm pulled over and more. I learned that crashes are twice as likely when teenaged drivers have teenaged passengers. This is because of the distractions and influences made by the passengers. If I see a drunk driver or suspect someone of drinking and driving I should call 911 with they're license plate number. If I'm ever drinking or if one of my friends is drunk or under the influence then I should call a cab, sober friend or my parents for a ride home.

As for law regarding being under the influence of any substance while driving I learned a lot. One fact I learned was for states to get federal money, they are required to have zero tolerance laws for underage drinkers. This means if an underage driver has a blood alcohol level of any number, even the legal limit, they will be arrested for DUI.

As for the process of arresting a driver under the influence first the officer must pull them over for reasonable reason. This could be for your car weaving, speeding, turn signal on beyond a turn etc. The officer will then ask to see your insurance and driver's license. If the officer suspects you of being under the influence for any reason they will ask you how many drinks you have or your drug consumption. You must answer these questions. The officer will then put you through a series of field sobriety tests to see where your state of mind is. If you fail these tests you will be given your Miranda rights, hand cuffed and brought to the police station. At the station you will take a breath, urine or blood test depending on what type of test that particular station uses. After you're booked for DUI you will need to post bail or be released on own recognizance. When you are released you will be given a court date to plead guilty or not guilty. The judge will hear you in a bench trial (when the judge decides your fate). If found guilty your lawyer will give you further detail on what you will have to serve.

From here I went to the doctors. I first learned about smoking marijuana and the affect it has on the brain. When under the influence of marijuana and driving you misjudge speed and braking. It also affects perceptions. The parts of the brain marijuana affects are the cerebellum and the hippo campus. The cerebellum controls your balance and posture. When marijuana is in your system your cerebellum is affected causing you to have poor coordination and poor road tracking. The hippo campus is in charge of your memory. When marijuana is in your system you're affected by having memory loss and your attention is reduced.

Your hippo campus is also affected when you drink along with your medulla and frontal lobe. When you drink you're affected by having black outs and not remembering actions you took while drunk. Your medulla controls your basic life functions like your heart rate and breathing. When drinking you start to have shortness of breath, leading into less oxygen getting to the brain thus passing out or having brain failure. Your frontal lobe is in charge of decision making. When drinking your front lobe is being numbed which leads into bad decision making. Drinking overall slows down messages to the brain, slurs your speech, blurs your vision and makes you have poor judgement.

I also learned about head injuries. Head injuries can make it so you can't concentrate, forget things, lose your sense of taste and smell, difficulty with motor skills and you can have little to big mood swings. One cause of head injuries can be from not wearing your seat belt. There are three different types of hittings. Car hitting object, heading hitting object and brain hitting scull. The use of a seat belt reduces your risk of dieing in a car crash by 60%. More teens die each year then any age group by 80% because they didn't wear their seat belts. Princess Diana died because she was unbelted, in a car crash and had severe chest injuries.

I then went to the school. I learned that for every teen killed in a motor vehicle crash, about 100 others suffered non-fatal injuries. I also learned safer alternatives for having a friend or you getting home safely when under the influence. You can ask for the keys before they start drinking or marijuana so you have control over the keys. You can also find another driver who isn't under the influence for a ride home. You can also delay the person from driving by keeping them where they are. Using another angle works as well. Instead of saying "I'll drive because you're drunk" you can say "I'll drive because you look tired". This way the person isn't embarrassed and doesn't think you're treating them with disrespect. There will also be less a risk of angering them. You never want to let them go without trying though. People who let their friend go when they don't know they're condition or don't want to start a problem. You can use a couple of these at once. You should always use a direct approach so they don't get embarrassed. Use a relax approach as well so they don't get defensive which results in them not letting you give them a ride.

I finally went to the lawyer. I learned that the definition of a total car was the cost to repair the damage is greater than the value of the car. She then led me through the costs that you have to pay for getting into a crash and having a DUI charge. It's $50 for the towing fee of your car and $137 per day for storing your car. You then need to get a restricted license which costs $100. The insurance costs $10,800. You then need to take alcohol education program which costs $585. The minimum fee is $480. Your defense attorney will cost $2000 and the court costs will be $406. Your probation fee will be $44. The fund for head injuries will be $120. The lawyer said this was on average and is different in each state. While looking at a real case I learned that malice was to committing a wrongful act that results in harm to another without just reason or cause.

At the end of the program I found out that I was the bicyclists. I survived the crash with minor injuries. I learned that when you or someone is under the influence and is about to drive you are responsible for not stopping them or making that poor decision. Driving is a responsibility and it needs to be taken more seriously. You can end up going to jail, killing someone or killing yourself. However, something might never happen to you or your friend while under the influence, but if you want to be safe and not risk your lives by taking that chance you should take the alternative options.