In today's society, driving under the influence of alcohol has become a deadly crime. The deaths would be preventable if we had stricter laws against this problem. 1 person every 51 minutes dies from an impaired driver and the only people who will say DUI laws are too strict or strict enough as they are now, are those who drive while intoxicated. Here's a question for those people: What would happen if your loved one was killed by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign? Would the laws still be too strict? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Families' lives are turned upside down by the sudden death of a loved one, families never return to their normal lifestyle. While criminals, after a few days in prison, resume their normal lives. As a result of our fragile criminal justice system, everyday road users share the road with repeat offenders who are highly resistant to changing their behavior despite prior sanctions, treatment or education. In my opinion, those who cause the death of another person while driving while intoxicated should receive a mandatory prison sentence of five to ten years depending on the circumstances, without the possibility of parole. Today the penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol are woefully too lenient. It's not just life that's at stake when they get behind the wheel. The new penalties for impaired driving under the Ontario Criminal Code state that for the first offence, impaired driving with a BAC greater than 0.08%, a fine is increased to $1,000, 00 from $600.00, for a second offense, same conditions as above, now receive 30 days in jail. prison instead of 14 days and for a third offense same conditions as above, they now receive 120 days in prison instead of 90 days. Anyone who kills another while driving while intoxicated is convicted of a more general crime, such as manslaughter, which carries 10 to 16 months. That being said, let's say a drunk driver gets into his vehicle and was fortunately caught before an accident accumulates, the individual will pay $1000.00. Now let's say the same person was caught a second time and the consequence he will receive is 30 days in prison. Then the same person was caught a third time and received 120 days in prison. However, there is a possibility that the person wasn't caught the first time, didn't see the red light, and killed your 18-year-old son. That impaired driver most likely didn't learn his lesson the first time because the laws aren't serious enough and the second time they might kill your spouse, and the third time they might kill you. The laws are too lenient! The possibility of this outcome is very likely. The Ontario Highway Traffic Act created penalties in addition to the Criminal Code fines above. These include license suspensions from one year for a first offense to life for a third offense. These drivers must also complete a corrective measures assessment and an educational or therapeutic program for approximately 10 months. They also must install an ignition interlock device on their vehicles for a term of 1 year for a first offense to life in prison for a third offense. The ignition interlock device is a rental machine for monitoring breath alcohol that is connected to the vehicle's ignition. I believe for a first offense of driving with a BAC over 0.08% without injury to aindividual you would have to serve a two-year license suspension and a $5,000 fine, for a second offense under the same conditions, you would have to serve a five-year license suspension and a $5,000 fine, and for a third offense under the same conditions, you would have to serve a twenty-five year license suspension and one year in prison. If you cause the death of another individual you would face five to ten years in prison. According to provincial police reports, 47% of people killed in drunk driving accidents are innocent victims. This statistic has proven true over the past 15 years and was published in November 2017. Statistics show that 987 people have died as a result of drunk driving since 2003 on roads patrolled by the OPP, and of those 987, thirty-seven died in the year 2017. Police also reported that approximately 72,000 impaired driving accidents occur in Canada every year. It is not difficult to overlook a law and predict it as too strict or not strict enough. For example, many people think that marijuana laws are irrelevant or that manslaughter laws are too harsh. But when you have over 50% of innocent people's lives ending because a person who thinks they can drive because they just buzzed, that's where you have to start drawing the line. The boundary between facts and opinions. It goes without saying that someone receiving a year in prison for accidentally killing someone while under the influence of alcohol is not right. Everyone is aware of the law, that it is not possible to drive while intoxicated if a person chooses to get behind the wheel and ends up killing someone due to his inability to drive a motor vehicle, the punishment should be more severe than just one year . This poem was written by an unknown source and has different interpretations towards people who drink and drive which lead to someone else paying the price they don't deserve. It goes like this: “I went to a party and remembered what you said. You told me not to drink, Mom, so I had a little spirit. I felt proud of myself, the way you said I would, that I didn't drink and drive, even though some friends said I should. I made a healthy choice, and your advice was right, the party is finally over, and the kids are gone. I got into the car, sure of returning home in one piece, I never knew what would happen, mom, something I least expected. Now I'm lying on the sidewalk and I hear the policeman say: The boy who caused the accident was drunk, mom, his voice seems distant. My own blood is all around me as I try with all my might not to cry. I hear the paramedic say: This girl is going to die. I'm sure the guy had no idea, as he was flying high, why he chose to drink and drive, now I should die. So why do people do it, Mom, knowing that it ruins lives? And now the pain is cutting through me, like a hundred knives stabbing. Tell sister not to be afraid, tell daddy to be brave, and when I go to heaven, put daddy's daughter on my grave. Someone should have taught him that it's wrong to drive and drink. Maybe if his parents had done that, I would still be alive. My breathing is getting shorter and shorter, Mom, I'm really scared. These are my last moments and I am so unprepared. I wish you could hold me, mother, as I lie here and die. I wish I could say, "I love you, Mom!" So I love you and goodbye. This poem is an exact representation of what provincial police officers are talking about when they say innocent lives are taken away in drunk driving accidents. He's not always the fool.