You Drink, You Drive, You Lose: Or Do You?

This Article explores different ways to effectively discourage the crime of alcohol impaired driving. Part I analyzes the trend of utilizing preventive educational measures to counteract societal acceptance of this crime and the shortcomings of relying exclusively on this measure. Part II discusses OUI prevention based on deterrence and the use of stricter penalties, such as mandatory jail sentences, to stop alcohol impaired drivers. This section explores whether the trend of increasing the severity of the punishment for OUI offenses is effective in stopping the crime. This section also discusses the shortcomings of OUI legislation that make deterrence of OUI difficult. Part III explores ways to combat the problem of OUI, including implementing uniform Dram Shop Laws, providing law enforcement with adequate funding to facilitate the apprehension of OUI violators, de-criminalizing first offense OUI, and combining preventive societal measures with legal means aimed at increasing the likelihood of arrest and the certainty of conviction. Ultimately, to properly address this issue, the target of awareness campaigns must shift away from the general public and focus on alcohol serving institutions