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Decreasing Drunk Driving on College Campuses

Drunk driving is an incredibly serious problem on college campuses across the United States, as colleges provide an environment in which under-age individuals can get relatively easy access to alcohol and in far too many instances, binge drinking is common, if not encouraged.

Drunk driving places everyone on the road in harm’s way, and can have devastating effects on unsuspecting, law-abiding motorists. Fortunately, many university administrators are taking action to try and reduce drunk driving incidents on and around their campuses. Some steps that university administrators have taken in recent years have included:

Initiating Safe Ride Programs: Safe ride programs can be run either by campus officials, or as a volunteer organization that students themselves participate in. With these programs, individuals who find themselves intoxicated off campus can call a number and receive a free ride back to their dorm or apartment. This discourages drunk driving, and helps to create a safer environment on roadways near a university, and helps students avoid criminal charges like DUI, DWI, OWI (in places like Wisconsin), or DWII (in places like Oregon). In most states, speaking with a DUI or DWI lawyer could help you alleviate the stress when issued a drunk driving ticket.

Cutting Out Student Courts: Many universities have student courts or disciplinary councils that establish penalties for students accused of crimes or violating school policy. However, in order to discourage more serious crimes, like drunk driving, many schools have decided that crimes of this nature will not be handled on campus, and instead, those charged with drunk driving will have to hire a drunk driving lawyer and defend themselves in the legal system, not on campus.

College Students Drinking

Creating Zero-Tolerance Policies: One incredibly effective deterrent that some schools have put in place is a zero-tolerance policy for drunk driving arrests. These policies basically state that if a student is convicted of drunk driving, they will be kicked out of school, even if it is a first offense.

Through these and other policies, school officials are hoping to limit the number of drunk driving incidents that occur on and near college campuses, and in doing so, keep their students, faculty, and staff safe.


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Larry Benneth+