Drunk Drivers Should Be Imprisoned on their first offense Essay

Drunk Drivers Should Be Imprisoned on their first offense - Essay Example Because of this drastically increased risk of death, it is the assertion of this particular author that the penalties for drunk driving must be increased significantly. One such effective mechanism through which drunk driving can be ameliorated is to change the dynamics of the criminal justice system so that the penalty for doing it becomes so severe that individuals will reconsider whether it is ultimately worth it risk driving themselves or whether they should opt instead for the inconvenience and potentially more expensive alternative of arranging alternate means of transportation. Within such an understanding, it is the belief of this particular analyst that if the penalty for first offense drunk driving was mandatory prison time, the dynamic that is exhibited throughout the United States would significantly shift; promoting safer roads and protecting the lives of thousands that might otherwise be victim to the loss of life, paralysis, and injury that tens of thousands of drunk d rivers cause each and every year. The most important rationale behind seeking to increase the penalties for drunk driving has to do with the impulse and nature of the crime itself. As with many crimes, narcissism and the desire to promote one’s own needs and goals above that of society is the root cause of drunk driving. Within such an understanding, the reader can appropriately note that mandatory prison sentences for first time offenders may very well promote two approaches to the dynamic that has been described. Firstly, it will engage the potential drunk driver with an understanding that their own narcissistic goals are not maximized by taking the profound risk of facing a mandatory prison sentence if they are caught (Friel, 2005). Secondly, it provides those individuals that are caught, prosecuted and imprisoned with valuable time to consider the misdeeds that they have done and rehabilitate themselves via an enforced and