No country in the world has higher blood-alcohol limits than the US. That certainly has to be a factor in the high death rate from alcohol-related accidents. Alcohol-related traffic deaths are over 40%, some 17,000 per year. That means that about 200,000 people sustain injuries requiring hospitalization from alcohol-related crashes.
Someone who would be considered drunk in some other countries, would not even be considered an alcohol-related statistic in the US, therefore, the actual rate of alcohol-related deaths and injuries is higher than reported.
Those are 'genocidal' numbers.
There is no greater deterrent than severe punishment. No one has the right to drive drunk. You certainly don't want to get caught driving drunk in Japan since they strengthed the penalities. Here's why:
The legal definition of drunk driving is 0.0025% blood-alchohol. The limit in the US is over 3 times that level.
Driving under the influence is 0.0015% - one small glass of beer. If you're caught at a checkpoint, you're going to pay a fine of about $3,000, have your license suspended for up to one year, and (here is the kicker...) your employer is going to either fire you, or suspend you from work without pay for about 3 months.
That is for driving under the influence (one beer). If you're drunk (less than 1/3 the limit in the US), you'll likely lose you job, license, pay about a $5,000 fine. You don't want to know the punishment for hurting or killing someone after drinking that glass of beer. You're going to prison for up to 15 years. No parole or time off for 'good behavior' in Japanese prison. Your 'good behavior' stopped the minute you were convicted and sentenced.
The death rate for alcohol-related accidents dropped to about 5% after those draconian measures were adopted. Remember that it is at least 40% in the US with 3 times the legal limit of alcohol allowed.
Draconian punishment? Sure, but I support it. I think it's more effective than these machines will ever be.
