After a day of hard work, it makes sense to go to the local bar to get a bottle or two where you can unwind and catch up with old friends.
For some people, regrettably, the night out ends up being about the danger of drunk driving.
More than a quarter of America’s vehicular fatalities are as a result of drunk driving, with many of them happening here in Michigan. And given the severe consequences of getting convicted under DUI, it’s easy to see why you would need a Patrick O’Keefe a DUI attorney in your speed dial.
Away from the law, reducing impaired driving has been a primary objective for the Michigan lawmakers. To meet this goal, the lawmakers alongside the public officials have undertaken stringent measures such as advertising campaigns and increasing the number of DUI checkpoints.
While these tactics seem to have reduced the prevalence of drunk drinking, DUI persists as a significant problem.
Effect of Ride Sharing
However, recently released data by Uber, one of the leading ride-sharing companies shows a decrease in DUI convictions.
Superficially, this might mean that while the government attempts to curb drunk driving has borne fruits, innovations in the private domain has had an even more pronounced, and positive impact on impaired driving.
Ridesharing allure is easy to see, and it seems like common sense; people are less tempted to drink and drink if they have an easier alternative to take them home after a night out.
Further reports by Mercury News, indicate that there is a sharp decline in the number of DUI with the recent arrival of ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft.
For instance, Las Vegas, with the highest number of DUI arrests in 4859, experienced a sharp decline of up to 37% to 3056 arrests. Philadelphia, on the other hand, with a previous arrest statistic of 15,594, declined by 17% to 12, 921.
Reality Check
In cities where Uber and Lyft are commonplace, you would be forgiven to think that this will automatically result to lower DUIs.
Again, if you pay attention to the ride-sharing memos, you might think that the reduction is undeniable.
The reality, however, is that it’s a bit challenging to justify the effect of ride sharing and its overall effect in the reduction of DUIs.
Just to be clear, there exist several research studies that support the effect of ride-sharing and reduction in DUIs.
A report published The Globe and the Mail, for instance, indicates there’s a reduction of 3.6 to 5.6 of deaths reported due to drunk drinking in weekdays in California. Another study published at Uber.com, alongside collaboration from Mothers Against Drunk Driving insists that ridesharing has resulted in preventing as many as 1,800 deaths that would have occurred in California due to drunk driving.
Be as it may, there exist inconsistencies in the data provided, and more importantly, the data is severely limited to showing the exact impact of ride sharing and DUIs.
Again, ride sharing impact on DUIs is unevenly felt across the United States. According to a new research finding published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the variability of DUIs are largely due to the characteristics and conditions of the city.
For instance, in large cities, people are more likely to use ride sharing apps, when compared to the rural and semi-urban towns.
In cities such as Las Vegas, which host more than 40 million tourists every year, many will use ride sharing services as opposed to their vehicles.
In some cities, however, such as Portland and San Antonio, the above study finding showed a sharp decline in the DUIs as Uber resumed services.
As such, there are so many inconsistencies with and the effect of ride sharing services is based on many factors such as the number of users, city’s topology, drunk driving laws, and more.
