Triple A: Adolescents,Automobiles, Alcohol
Why do you think young
people sometimes drink and drive, or abuse alcohol in general? Is this more common for teenagers than for
adults? Is it more serious when a young
person does it? What do you think about
some of the solutions proposed in this article? How are the situations in New Zealand and Slovakia different?
The main difference between New Zealand and Slovakia is the age required for a driving license. One of the solution that was mentioned in the article was raising the age limit for drinking. I do not think this solution would change anything, because it is not hard for teenagers to find alcohol even if they are not supposed to. However, it is less likely that a person that does not have a driving license will drive a car, even when he is drunk. That is why it is more logical to raise the age limit for driving license.
ReplyDeleteThe reason teenagers drink so much is also quite logical. They find alcohol exciting and new and they want to find everything out for themselves. If they survive this phase without a serious injury, they can learn how to handle alcohol. Of course, there is a danger that they might hurt themselves. I agree with the article that parents are the ones that should warn their children and try to make them listen.
The Triple A is presented really precisely. Adolescents are people which get influenced by others really easily. This contributes to the consummation of alcohol in usually heavy amounts. Since adolescents are young they usually follow a motto “young wild and free” which means that most of the adolescents really like taking risks. The risks in the Triple A include the automobiles joined together with drinking of alcohol. However, the worst thing in this is that many adolescents are not aware of the fact that by taking risks they don’t only put themselves into danger but also other people which have usually nothing to do with this.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that people should not drink at all, but alcohol is for sure not for youngsters not only from the biological healthy point of view but also from the view of the responsibility. Adults are more responsible and have more experience which means that they are less likely to drive with alcohol in blood because they are more aware of what would or what could happen. Obviously, there are some exceptions which may be even more dangerous than adolescents.
Young people do not really think about things before they do it, that’s why they face the consequences only when once happened. Unfortunately, regretting what happened or being sorry for something doesn’t help anymore. Bad and wrong decisions are more typical for adolescents than for adults for sure.
Considering whether drinking and driving is more serious when an adult or a youngster does it, depends on the points of view. If looking from the healthy point of view it is more serious when a young person does it, because it affects their growing health really much. If considering responsibility it is way more serious when an adult drinks and drives, because adults have to be responsible and more aware of what they are doing since they have more experience and they could predict what serious consequences can happen. However, no matter who, either adolescent or adult, drinks and drives, it is extremely dangerous in both cases not only for them but also for other people which might be in contact with the situations.
The proposed solutions in the article may help to the problem of adolescents drinking and driving but in my opinion it is not able to stop them completely. Stopping youngsters from drinking alcohol is really difficult because this issue is already widely spread. However, it may be easier in my opinion to stop driving with alcohol in blood. Though, it might not be true because it is almost impossible to stop wild youngsters to have their will in taking risks. The situations of young people drinking alcohol are in my opinion almost the same every where. The situation in New Zeeland is though different that young people may drive earlier. Automobiles are simply not for early young adolescents because they have a lack of responsibility. Driving includes stressing situations which can be difficult to handle.
Young people try alcohol for many reasons. Most teenagers are curious to try it because they may find alcohol tempting. Some young people drink because it makes them feel older, or because it gives them a certain image among friends. Youngsters drink even though they know they shouldn’t. They know that they are still under the law, under the influence of their parents, but they still drink and often times, they get drunk. Unfortunately, the taste of something forbidden can be the reason for their temptation. Therefore, I do think that teenagers abuse alcohol. Of course, not all teenagers are the same, but in general, binge drinking is quite popular among youth.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I don’t think that adults consume less alcohol. My parents have a glass of wine almost everyday with dinner for example. However, I do think that teenagers do get drunk more often and practice binge drinking more. Why is this? First of all, I think that adults actually enjoy the taste of alcohol, whereas, from what I know from my own experience, young people don’t seem to enjoy the taste. Second of all, like Sabi already mentioned, “adults are more responsible and have more experience”. However, this experience has to come from somewhere. I think that it was gained mainly from ones teenage years. After a person already tried all the crazy and wild things, eventually he/she grows up and gains a certain amount of responsibility when their lives become different. People become independent from their parents, get employed, or have their own children.
I definitely agree with the article in the zero tolerance of alcohol in New Zeeland because drinking and driving is very dangerous and may have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, it is strictly prohibited to drink and drive. Anyone who drives or tries to drive after they’ve been drinking alcohol could face a driving ban, a large fine or even a prison sentence. Moreover, I think that the situation doesn’t change if an adolescent or adult drinks and drives. Driving under the influence of alcohol may have the same consequences when a young, or older person rides the vehicle. Therefore it cannot be said which case is more serious. They both are.
As Janka and Sabi already mentioned, the situation in Slovakia is differing from the situation in New Zeeland because of the lower age limit of getting a drivers license in New Zeeland. This reminds me of the situation in America. I think that America does not have such a problem with teenagers drinking and driving because youngsters can’t get in contact to alcohol so easily. In my opinion, it is too easy for teenagers to buy alcohol in Slovakia. Honestly, some shopkeepers don’t have a problem to sell a 14-year old a bottle of Vodka. Therefore, I think that it is good that Slovakia has a relatively high age limit for driving. Drivers are more mature and are more likely to take for their acts, since they have to be 18 at the time they have a driver’s license and can drive alone. This means that they have reached adulthood.
This comment on comment is a response to Janka’s comment.
ReplyDeleteI want to start off by saying that, in my opinion, teenagers drink for the first time mainly just to try something that they haven’t tried before. Why does a small child purposely go somewhere where you tell it not to? Because of curiosity. The fact that it’s ‘forbidden’ makes the temptation to try it just increase. This feeling however melts away after the first time, but, unlike the popular belief that the youth keep doing it because their sweet rebellion is something that enhances their lives, that it makes them feel important and interesting, I believe that they are just truly enjoying themselves. There is no ulterior purpose such as ‘feeling like a rebel’. Obviously, eventually once an individual overdoes it and drinks too much, they say “I’m never going to drink again”. And this is not true, because the following evening when they are hanging out, they just remember all of the memorable times spent with their friend Alcohol, and so they end up drinking again. And that is what is so truly dangerous about this fluid. That no matter how many retarded and dangerous things you do because of it, until something extremely horrible happens, you feel it’s alright and it’s just ‘fun’.
I agree with Janka’s statement regarding the solution to binging and drunk driving: it should be the parents watching over their children. They should be the ones that bring the children up in such a way that they actually realize what the consequences of their actions could be. I don’t think commercials and different propagation campaigns will work, because the individuals that have no problem overdoing it –the ones that don’t know they’ve had enough– will not be stopped by educational programs. I think they have already been informed of the risks involving what they are doing, but no amount of additional education about it will discourage them since they are not actually fully aware of what could happen. They think it could never happen to them.
Since I’m young and I’ve just passed my driving tests, I feel familiar with this kind of article. I need to admit that I’m pleased with the fact that there are less young people caught drunk driving a car. It’s a real evidence of positive impacts of government policies. I do not think it’s possible to decrease it to zero level, but their goal may be to draw as nearer as possible. I completely agree with Ms Braidwood’s statement that the Government's Safer Journeys campaign was a good solution which has decreased the number of drunk drivers. We’ve got something similar also in Slovakia, but it highlights the importance of seat-belts. When I experienced a simulation of car crash, I realized the huge importance of the seat-belts. That’s why I think the similar campaign dealing with the drunk drivers can be useful in New Zealand. Moreover, the campaign: “PLAN B4 U Party” is a great idea. It’s true that when are people drunk, they tend to do more risky things and so driving a car can be one of them. That’s why it’s smart to show the importance of planning your party and so you can prevent from doing some unwise acts.
ReplyDeleteAccording to me, this thread tends to be more serious for young people than adults. I base my opinion on the fact that young people often do some crazy things and are less responsible than adults in general. This makes them more likely to drive even they are drunk. Moreover, they have less driving experience and so such act can be even more dangerous for young than for adults.
I think that parental attitude has a significant impact on young people, therefore they can influence the safety of young people on roads to a great extent. As is mentioned in the article, they need to start behaving like their parents, not like their friends. Nowadays, it’s usual to see parents behaving like that, arguing that they create a gorgeous relationship with their children. I think they are totally out. Parents need to teach their children to be responsible and not to do unwise acts, such as driving drunk.
In my opinion, if there were a higher age limit of selling alcohol, even less people would drive drunk. Therefore, I think it’s quite smart solution. I really like the situation in France. You can make a driving lesson as a 16 year old, but you need to drive with your parents for a year or two (I’m not completely sure). During this period, you gain the necessarily skills and so there’s a lower risk of car crash when you drive on your own. I think that if there were a higher age limit of selling alcohol and some law similar to this previously mentioned, it would decrease the total amount of car crashed caused by young people and also the number of drunk young drivers.
This is a response to comments above.
ReplyDeleteAs many comments have stated, driving and drinking is dangerous. Even more, if it concerns adolescents. I think that in this stage of life, people learn what they are and what is their attitude to problems around them. As alcohol is a big part of society, a teenager must develop his attitude to alcohol.
Some of the teenagers have parents that help their kids figure this out, some kids figure it out for themselves. However, most teenagers will just do what everybody does if they do not know the answer, try and experiment. I think that this is a factor that is not going to change anytime and it is important, because it is a way for adolescents to develop their worldview. The only thing left to do is to try to keep them out of danger. I think that the campaign was a great success, as it made some teenagers aware what they could do to themselves when they drive drunk.
Comment on Jana's and Janka's comments
ReplyDeleteAs we can clearly see, both Jana(ka)s share the same opinion about the cause of drinking alcohol. They said that it’s exciting for teenagers to experience it. In my opinion, this does not have to be the only reason. These kids may suffer from serious psychical problems caused whether by the discrepancy in their families (divorces…) or by some kind of unfit to the society. Due to this they choose an alcohol as a way to “escape from reality.” However, the article is not about drinking at all, but about drunk drivers. I need to disagree with Jana’s statement about uselessness of variety of campaigns. According to me these campaigns can be very very useful. Jana marked them as commercial propaganda. How can you tell such thing? Much of these campaigns are not organized by commercial companies such as Red Bull. The main organizers are mainly non-profit organizations or governments. Also EU supports this kind of “propaganda” via variety of projects. Young people are definitely not well-informed. During such campaigns they can also experience a car crash on simulators and the experience like this really counts. However, I need to disagree with Janka as well. She said that by increasing the age limit for driving license, we would prevent from some crashes caused by drunk young people. I do not think this kind of policy would work. In my opinion, even by decreasing the age limit for driving license and establishing laws about necessity of driving with parents for about a year, we would eventually prevent from more car crashes. Both Jankas do not think like I do. I do not know, whether it’s positive or negative, but I’m really happy we’ve had an opportunity to express our opinions.