Drunk Driving Persuasive Speech

- Good afternoon.

Did you know all that in Wisconsin,

80 out of 10,000 drivers a year
arrested for drunk driving.

As provided by the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation,

we rank among the highest
states in the country

for drunk driving.

Now that we know our state has a problem,

and that needs to be controlled,
as it appears to be getting

out of control, the question
is, how do we reduce this?

And how do we reduce this statistic?

I can relate to this topic, as I chose

to make a poor decision
the summer of 2003,

when I decided to drink and
drive and ended up behind bars.

And let me tell you,

this isn't something that
you want to experience.

As you can see here,

this photo provided in the
July 5th, 2003 edition,

of the Iron Mountain Daily News,
I chose to drink and drive,

like I said, and this
is what I ended up with.

And after this accident, I
noticed I have way too much

to lose at the age of
16, to throw my life away

by drunk driving.

During the next bit of time,

I'm going to discuss the
reasons why we need to try and

eliminate drunk driving.

I'll be covering what is
considered drunk driving,

the effects drunk driving can have,

the penalties of drunk driving

and a few ways we can
reduce drunk driving.

Before someone can determine
if they are too drunk to drive,

they need to know where the
line is drawn in the sand.

Do you yourself know the legal limit

for drinking and driving?

In Wisconsin, the legal limit
for drunk driving was reduced

from 0.10 to 0.03, as provided by the

from 0.10 to 0.03, as provided by the

Wisconsin Department of Justice website.

Wisconsin Department of Justice website.

Since then, we have had many
fewer drunk driving in the

Since then, we have had many
fewer drunk driving in the

state, although, we're not
to where we'd like to be.

Now, that we know the
meaning of drunk driving,

let's move forward with
what the effects of

drunk driving include.

I'm not quite sure of all the effects

that come with drunk driving,

but I would like you to
picture your life without

a significant loved
one or a family member.

By choosing to drink and drive,
it can lead to many things.

They include jail time,
fines, vehicle accidents,

They include jail time,
fines, vehicle accidents,

which even lead to vehicular
deaths, loss of loved ones,

when it comes to vehicle accidents.

By choosing to make that poor decision,

you can also lose your driver's license,

have a mandatory jail sentence,

or if you are a repeat offender,

your vehicle could
install with one of these,

which is an Intoxalock.

This unit is used to force
the driver to blow into the

Intoxalock, prior to their
ignition unlocking in the car,

being able to start.

Other things that come
after the Intoxalock include

reduced driving hours,
occupational driver's license

and not a driver's license at all.

Now that we know the
definition, penalties,

the effects of drunk driving,

let's look at some alternative methods on

how we can reduce drunk driving.

It's very important that
we all team up to make

this transition and reduce
the statistic of drunk driving

throughout the state and the country.

Just a few things that we can
do to reduce drunk driving,

when hosting a party, create
a cool, calm, comfortable

environment to allow people
to feel like they're fit in,

that they don't need to
forcefully drink to socialize and

essentially binge drink.

You know, by providing
a low level of noise,

low level of music, things like that,

that allows people to just concentrate,

feel more laid back and
relate to themselves.

If you're having a party at
your own residence and per se

a family member, a friend
plans on bartending,

please don't choose a
bartender whom it's going to be

forceful, to someone who
does not elect to drink.

There are a third of
adults in this country

that choose not to drink,
and they shouldn't be

pressured by people who elect to drink,

to have to drink to fit
in with everyone else.

There's a lot of people
that can have a good time

without drinking.

A few other things include
passing lots of snacks around,

having plenty of food, things like that,

or even a reduced amount
of alcohol at your party,

cause as I stated before,
alcohol doesn't always make fun.

People make the party fun.

However, if you have had
too much to drink and

people are looking for a ride home,

look for a sober driver,
look for a taxi cab.

If last resource you can't
find a ride by someone

whom is sober, choose to
walk, exercise is a good thing

and then everyone in America can use some.

Through the last few minutes,

I hope this was something that
was an eye-opener for a lot

of you, as it was for me eight years ago,

when I made the poor decision.

Throughout the conversation of the speech,

we covered many things that
included what drunk driving is,

the effects of drunk driving,
penalties of drunk driving,

and just a few short options
of items that we can perform

to try and reduce the
statistics of drunk driving.

With all this being said,

please be sure to make better
decisions when choosing to

drink and elect a ride
from a sober driver,

as I don't want you to be the
one who made a poor decision

like I did just about eight years ago,

when I ended up behind
bars. It's not a fun thing,

and I don't want you to experience it.