Impaired Driving. Office for Victims of Crime

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Impaired Driving. Office for Victims of Crime

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the trends and issues service providers should consider when assisting survivors of impaired driving crimes. Adults 21 and over who drink alcohol are not committing a crime (unless refraining from alcohol is a condition of probation or parole), and alcohol, although a dangerous drug, is still acceptable in many social settings. This was not always the case. The history of the United States includes tensions between those who were proponents of the sale and use of alcohol, and those who were opposed. Ultimately, during the years 19201933, after passage of the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, the U. S. enacted the National Prohibition (Volstead) Act, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.1 Legal prohibition against alcohol was based on both practical and religious foundations, as many advocates of temperance believed that the use of alcohol was immoral. During the years between the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and the early 1970s, society and government struggled to find the balance between freedom of choice and the damage to society by alcohol problems.2 During that time, as the highway and roadway system expanded and more individuals purchased automobiles and began to drive, the problems of impaired driving increased.