writing an essay drunk

Write Drunk, Edit Sober: Is it Good Advice?

by Cole Salao

“Write drunk, edit sober” is a maxim often attributed to Ernest Hemingway—who is, admittedly, known for his writing and drinking.

It has become canonized into the big book of creative advice that writers (and other creatives) frequently follow. But is alcohol really an effective way to fuel your writing? Or is it an excuse to indulge a vice in the guise of perfecting a craft?

Who Said Write Drunk Edit Sober?

The originator of “write drunk, edit sober” is still up for debate. Although often attributed to Ernest Hemingway, the famous author apparently never said it. In fact, he rarely mixed alcohol with his craft.

“That’s not how he wrote,” his granddaughter once said in an interview . “He never wrote drunk, he never wrote beyond early, early morning.”

Hemingway was often up by six, typing away at his keyboard until the afternoon. As he said in an interview with George Plimpton :

A likelier candidate is American novelist Peter De Vries, who wrote a novel entitled Reuben, Reuben , where a character says:

Does Alcohol Enhance Creativity?

I’ve long believed that creativity and madness are separated by a thin line, constantly borrowing from one another. To be clear, I’m not talking about madness as a mental illness, but rather a term we often use to describe those who defy norms.

It’s a delicate balance that most writers seem to revel in, creating habits that either seem odd or brilliant to non-writers.

Some examples that come to mind are Dan Brown hanging himself upside down , Charles Dickens always sleeping facing north , and Isabel Allende always starting her book on the same day . All of these authors developed these habits to foster their creativity in the craft.

Maybe alcohol is one such manifestation of this thin line, and science does support it to an extent. A study by psychologist Jennifer Wiley and team found that intoxicated individuals were able to solve more creative word problems, and more quickly, than sober people.

Another study suggests that intoxication results in reduced idea flexibility , but also brings about more out-of-the-box, original ideas. And still another study concluded that alcohol “ can reduce ‘writer’s block ,’ at least amongst non-alcoholic subjects.”

But a study from Sweden reports the converse side of these studies. Sixty subjects were randomly separated into one of three groups: alcohol, placebo, and control. Analysis indicates that both the alcohol and placebo groups exhibited reduced creativity generation compared with the control group.

Researchers from the University of Graz discovered that alcohol tends to impair executive control (the ability to focus, plan, remember, and juggle tasks successfully), doesn’t affect divergent thinking abilities (the ability to think outside the box), but also improves creative problem-solving.

Additionally, this study also indicates that “small attenuations of cognitive control may facilitate certain aspects of creative cognition while not affecting others.” This contributes to growing evidence that some part of creative thinking is controlled, but other times it’s spontaneous .

So it seems that alcohol can be beneficial to the creative process, but its benefits are tied to moderation. While moderate consumption can lead to more creative writing, overconsumption is likely to impede both productivity and creativity.

Another interesting aspect that these studies show is that higher cognition isn’t equal to better cognitive performance. So being sober also doesn’t mean that you’ll be at your best when it comes to writing.

Writing Drunk as a Mental State

There are those that argue not to take “write drunk, edit sober” literally, but to instead, apply the “looseness” of intoxication to your writing as if you were actually drunk.

Alcohol is a depressant. It lowers your inhibitions, making you do and say things that you wouldn’t normally do when you’re sober.

This looseness can range from the carefree use of spelling and grammar, to writing in a different format or voice. Ideally, this pushes you into experimenting with your craft, leading you to new or original ideas.

Similarly, “edit sober” means to look at your work with a critical eye. Once you’re done writing “drunk,” it’s time to clean up your writing by fixing up errors and typos.

You have to make sure that you don’t fix it up to the point that you eliminate the creativity, though. Place more emphasis on achieving coherence and good storytelling rather than using perfect grammar and language.

Is Write Drunk, Edit Sober Good Advice?

Well, it’s not terrible advice—at least, when done properly. But there are things you need to consider before following this maxim.

Alcohol can be a dangerous substance when used without control. There’s the obvious health risks to frequent alcohol consumption and glorifying drinking isn’t really giving this advice a good image.

And while it’s not terrible advice, it’s not exactly good. Drinking alcohol doesn’t guarantee an improvement in your creative process. It’s kind of a hit and miss, really.

The biggest problem with this advice though, is how it promotes the idea that creativity relies on a gimmick. But while it’s spontaneous at times, it still requires effort on your part to turn creative ideas into great pieces of work.

Overreliance on alcohol to increase your creativity could lead to the mistaken belief that to be creative, you need to be drunk. This can lead to addiction, and addiction is destructive—the complete opposite of creativity.

There’s a lot of tragedy surrounding writers who famously drank a lot of alcohol, though not necessarily while writing.

Dylan Thomas, the famous poet, was known for his love of drinking , which was one of the reasons for his premature death.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was a badly recovering alcoholic who also went early to his grave thinking his works were irrelevant. And Stephen King also went through a period of alcohol and substance abuse , leaving him unable to remember writing some of his books.

In Conclusion

With all the risks, why does this aphorism still continue to be popular?

Perhaps it’s because thinking about creativity is more appealing than doing the creative work. A running joke writers often use to poke fun at themselves is the idea that imagining a story is far more entertaining than actually writing it out.

Or maybe it’s because the idea of drinking while writing gives off a cool vibe. A lot of legendary writers, including Hemingway himself (who’s popularly known as a man’s man) are known for their drinking, cigarette-puffing, and other similar activities. You associate this “rockstar” image of them with their writing prowess, so you unconsciously try to do the same.

If you’re comfortable with sipping wine or beer while writing, you can probably continue doing so, provided that you keep it at a moderate level, since it becomes more detrimental to your writing the more intoxicated you become. So when you start noticing your mind going foggy, it’s time to go easier on the drinks.

But if you’ve yet to try it out, it might be better to choose a different way to boost your creativity. Try writing morning pages or constraining your writing . For something more straightforward, switch up your writing process or try to do some writing exercises .

Different things work for different writers, but all of them involve putting in the work to create a piece that you’ll be proud to let other people read. And try to not limit yourself to only one—this way, it’ll be easier to spot which method works best for you.

What do you think about the advice to “write drunk, edit sober”?

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• Why Is Writing So Hard? 7 Common Obstacles (and What to Do About Them)
• Writing Prompt Generators to Help You Overcome Creativity Hurdles
• 8 Incredible Benefits of Writing Things Down
• 3 Benefits of Freewriting to Upgrade Your Creative Process

Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!

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Does alcohol or caffeine help with writing?

The great writer Ernest Hemingway once allegedly said, “write drunk, edit sober.” Although it’s been debunked that he ever said anything of the sort, it’s undeniable that the man enjoyed his drinks and treated alcohol like his muse. On the other hand, us copywriters are rarely seen without our trusty mugs of coffee or tea – because frankly, any assignment without caffeine can feel like running a marathon through a swamp. Whether your poison is alcohol or caffeine, these pick-me-ups can seemingly work wonders, but do these substances actually enhance our writing performance? Read on to find out more…

The buzz about booze From a pint of beer and a glass of wine to two fingers of whiskey and a piña colada, the myriad of ways that alcohol can be served casts a wide net over our tastes. Consuming alcohol triggers the release of endorphins in our brain – the feel-good chemical that helps to relieve pain and stress. For obvious reasons, writing while flat out drunk is not ideal – a lesson we’ve probably learned in college when we’re trying to hammer out an essay at 3 am after too much partying. Even if you managed to complete the assignment, it was probably riddled with an embarrassing amount of mistakes and incoherent arguments.

Low doses of alcohol can enhance creativity in certain tasks, like creating associations between various words or topics, but it’s not a golden ticket to solving all creative challenges!

Although alcohol often gets a bad rap for influencing people to take regrettable actions, did you know that it can also be a rather effective stimulant when consumed in controlled doses? In a social experiment conducted by The Drum , they found that groups receiving an alcoholic drink of their choice to be more creative and productive than those without.

There’s a reason why alcohol is often the star of parties and gatherings – because it removes social boundaries and helps people open up. In the case of the social experiment, alcohol didn’t make people suddenly more creative, but it did help the participants become more willing to share and accept new ideas. How does alcohol fit into copywriting then? Why, during brainstorming sessions of course! Whether you or your team are discussing a narrative for a new campaign or trying to come up with ideas for a new story, a drink may be the way to explore new paths.

(Note that one drink, as set by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism , is considered to be one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits or equivalent – exceeding this amount would put drinkers at risk of inebriation and reduced mental capacities.)

The caffeine crank Productivity around the world would plummet if there was ever a shortage of caffeine. Without our daily fix of caffeine, we’d turn into sluggish, grumpy zombies. The consumption of caffeine creates a buzz similar to alcohol, but instead of endorphins, we get dopamine – a chemical with pleasure and cognitive enhancing properties that also increases feelings of positivity and well-being. For many, this buzz acts as the quintessential alarm clock for raising mental alertness and inspiring action. 

A study from the University of California Davis yielded results surprisingly similar to The Drum’s experiment – revealing that coffee (more specifically, the caffeine in it) is a potential lynchpin in fostering greater thoughts and arguments during group settings. This raises a key question: did the caffeine enhance participants’ performance or was it the improved group morale from the caffeine that enhanced performance? Inc. writer Scott Mautz believed neither point to be mutually exclusive, but rather, they were a cause and effect – “a morning group coffee yields better engagement, productivity, and performance,” explained Mautz. “The bonding opportunity creates camaraderie, which creates happiness.”  

Whether we are working alone or in a group, a caffeine burst is indeed linked with increased productivity . However, we need to be clear that caffeine does not boost our skill or competence at work – rather, it boosts the speed at which we can work . So if we’re trying to think about what sort of points and arguments we want to put into an article, an energy drink or coffee isn’t going to do much – but, if we’ve already established a clear outline and brief on how to write it beforehand (perhaps from the boozy brainstorm earlier), a quick caffeine trip will help us whip up a draft sooner!

Coca-Cola shares how much caffeine can be found in a can of their classic cola compared to other caffeinated substances. For a healthy adult, 300-400 mg of caffeine per day is the general consensus on safe consumption.

According to Healthline and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, caffeine has a half-life of about five hours in our system, but it only takes 30 to 60 minutes from consumption to reach the peak effects (high alertness and working speed) – meaning that we need to routinely ingest more of the stuff if we want to maintain peak performance. As with alcohol, too much caffeine in one sitting can have equally unwanted consequences. Like a child on a diet of sugary snacks and soda, you’ll feel hopelessly jittery and restless – terrible symptoms to have when you’re trying to focus on a job that requires seated concentration. Furthermore, your overclocked system will crash and be fatigued once the rush subsides – also bad for productivity.

Both alcohol and caffeine have their perks (pun intended), but as with anything in life – the key is to use them in moderation. In the most optimal circumstances, provided your workplace allows it, have a wee tipple when you’re brainstorming new ideas. Then when it comes time to execute your plan, let caffeine be your point man.

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09 Jul Writing While Drunk: Yes, Alcohol Can Make You a Better Writer

Ernest Hemingway was not only one of this country’s most brilliant writers, he was also a very enthusiastic drinker. Ok, fine, he was a drunk. If he was writing, you can bet he was writing while drunk.

I’m not advocating you become an alcoholic to improve your writing, but research has shown that alcohol may help you become a better writer.

Why writing while drunk could make you a better writer

Yes, a glass of Malbec or shot of bourbon will lower your inhibitions. We all know that. It also improves your creativity and your problem-solving skills, both of which you engage when you write.

The arguments are pretty compelling. I read about two different studies in Entrepreneur :

In one study , researchers found that participants who consumed a little bit of alcohol were faster to solve puzzles than people who were completely sober.

In another study , researchers found that moderately intoxicated men had more correct answers to a series of word association problems than those who were sober.

Writing is an art – it’s a creative pursuit. The more you just let your writing flow – without stopping to correct or second-guess yourself – the better it may be. If you’re a perfectionist, writing while drunk could help you let go.

Marketing writing that could improve with a drink or two

A few marketing writing projects require a great deal of creativity. I’m not advocating you get sloshed before you tackle them, but if you’re feeling stuck – why not?

Brainstorming content topics and ideas

When it feels like you have already written or talked everything you can about your area of expertise, a serious brainstorming session can help. The less inhibited you feel, the more ideas you may dream up or discover.

The pressure to continually write high-quality blog posts can cause serious writer’s block. Even for me. A glass of wine at lunch has absolutely helped unlock my brain and go with the flow.

Plus, with your inhibitions lowered, your blogging might sound more like the “real” you. If you come from an academic, medical or legal background where overly formal writing is the norm, alcohol might allow you to write in a more conversational style.

Writing headlines and subject lines

Headlines on web pages and subject lines in emails can make or break your marketing. You need to really grab people’s attention immediately if they are going to stay on your website or open your email.

Creativity is your friend here. Maybe alcohol is, too.

Outlining long form content

Long form content like a white paper or ebook require serious creativity to make sure they’re useful, interesting and easy to read. When it’s time to put together an outline, have a beer first.

Brainstorm the topics you’ll cover and organize them into sections or chapters. Then jot down where the content will come from – interviews, industry research, client stories, an industry association? The more varied your sources, the richer the content and the more impactful your final product.

Creating presentations

Most presentations suck. They are too long, too boring, too detailed and/or too wordy. However, because you’re too close to it, you need an outside perspective.

Ask a friend – preferably one who is in a complementary industry – to have a drink with you before you give them the presentation. Once the drink is consumed, hit “play slideshow” on PowerPoint.

Marketing is part art, part science. The next time you’re working on marketing project and need a little creative boost, have that glass of rose with lunch – and then sit down to write.

Image by Kobby Mendez via Unsplash 

Related posts:

I want to check this theory out. If you see a blog about blogging and the writers were drunk while they wrote the blog, then you can bet the origin of the blog is with me!

Monika Jansen

LOL – I would love to read it!

honestly i swear by this. I am not much of a writer i am more of a math person so when i started going to college online i do my school work from home and i noticed that when im drinking a few glasses of wine while trying to write an essay i am actually pretty good at it.

Oh how interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

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111 Drunk Driving Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Drunk driving is a serious issue that affects thousands of people each year. Whether it’s a drunk driver causing a fatal accident or someone getting a DUI, the consequences of driving under the influence can be devastating. If you have been tasked with writing an essay on drunk driving, it’s important to choose a compelling topic that will engage your readers.

To help you get started, here are 111 drunk driving essay topic ideas and examples:

• The impact of drunk driving on society
• The legal consequences of drunk driving
• The emotional toll of losing a loved one to a drunk driver
• The effectiveness of DUI checkpoints
• The role of alcohol education programs in preventing drunk driving
• The relationship between alcohol advertising and drunk driving
• The effects of alcohol on driving abilities
• The prevalence of drunk driving among college students
• The dangers of buzzed driving
• The impact of technology on preventing drunk driving
• The relationship between alcoholism and drunk driving
• The cost of drunk driving accidents to society
• The role of law enforcement in preventing drunk driving
• The effectiveness of ignition interlock devices in reducing drunk driving
• The impact of media coverage on public perceptions of drunk driving
• The role of peer pressure in drunk driving incidents
• The relationship between alcohol consumption and risky driving behaviors
• The consequences of a DUI conviction on a person’s life
• The impact of drunk driving on insurance rates
• The role of parents in preventing underage drinking and driving
• The dangers of driving the morning after drinking alcohol
• The relationship between alcohol availability and drunk driving rates
• The effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints in deterring drunk driving
• The impact of stricter drunk driving laws on reducing incidents
• The role of alcohol addiction treatment in preventing repeat DUI offenses
• The dangers of driving under the influence of drugs
• The effectiveness of public awareness campaigns in reducing drunk driving
• The impact of peer intervention programs on preventing drunk driving
• The relationship between alcohol abuse and mental health issues
• The consequences of drunk driving for victims and their families
• The role of bartenders and servers in preventing drunk driving
• The effectiveness of designated driver programs in reducing drunk driving incidents
• The impact of social norms on drunk driving behaviors
• The relationship between alcohol consumption and risky driving decisions
• The consequences of drunk driving for professional drivers
• The role of technology in detecting drunk drivers
• The effectiveness of mandatory alcohol education programs for DUI offenders
• The impact of alcohol addiction on a person’s ability to make responsible decisions
• The relationship between alcohol availability and drunk driving rates in different countries
• The consequences of drunk driving for underage offenders
• The role of friends and family in preventing loved ones from driving drunk
• The effectiveness of community-based prevention programs in reducing drunk driving
• The impact of alcohol-related injuries on healthcare costs
• The relationship between alcohol consumption and aggressive driving behaviors
• The consequences of drunk driving for commercial drivers
• The role of peer pressure in influencing drunk driving behaviors
• The effectiveness of alcohol treatment programs for DUI offenders
• The impact of drunk driving on workplace safety
• The relationship between alcohol use and impaired decision-making abilities
• The consequences of drunk driving for first-time offenders
• The role of alcohol abuse in causing repeat DUI offenses
• The effectiveness of school-based prevention programs in reducing underage drinking and driving
• The impact of alcohol availability on drunk driving rates in rural areas
• The relationship between alcohol consumption and fatal car accidents
• The consequences of drunk driving for military personnel
• The role of law enforcement in enforcing drunk driving laws
• The effectiveness of zero-tolerance policies for underage drinking and driving
• The impact of alcohol-related incidents on college campuses
• The relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual behaviors
• The consequences of drunk driving for professional athletes
• The role of social media in raising awareness about the dangers of drunk driving
• The effectiveness of peer education programs in preventing drunk driving
• The impact of alcohol-related incidents on academic performance
• The relationship between alcohol consumption and domestic violence
• The consequences of drunk driving for individuals with prior DUI convictions
• The role of alcohol abuse in causing impaired driving skills
• The effectiveness of community service programs for DUI offenders
• The impact of alcohol-related incidents on family relationships
• The relationship between alcohol use and criminal behavior
• The consequences of drunk driving for individuals with substance abuse issues
• The role of public transportation in reducing drunk driving rates
• The effectiveness of breathalyzer tests in deterring drunk driving
• The impact of alcohol abuse on a person’s

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6.7: A Student Example- “Preventing Drunk Driving by Enforcement” by Daniel Marvins

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• Page ID 6641

• Steven D. Krause
• Eastern Michigan University

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The assignment that was the basis for this essay asked students to write a “first person narrative” about the research project they would be working on for the semester. “It was really important to me think about a lot of different ideas and topics because I was worried that I might not be able to find enough research or stick with it,” Marvins said. “This project helped me think this through.”

Preventing Drunk Driving by Enforcement

Despite the fact that Americans are more aware of the problems of drunk driving than we were in the past, it is still a serious problem in the U.S. While educating everyone about the dangers of drunk driving is certainly important, I am interested in researching and writing about different ways to more strictly enforce drunk driving laws.

My working thesis for my research project is “While stronger enforcement measures to control drunk driving might be controversial and a violation of individual rights, they have to be enacted to stop drunk driving deaths.” By “stronger enforcement measures,” I mean things like police check points, lower legal levels of blood-alcohol, required breatholizer tests, less control on police searching cars, and stronger jail sentences.

I got the idea to focus on this topic by working on some of the different brainstorming techniques we talked about in class. I tried several different brainstorming techniques including freewriting and clustering. For me, the most useful technique was making a list of ideas and then talking it over with the other students in my group.

We all agreed that drunk driving would be a good topic, but I thought about writing about other topics too. For example, I think it would also be interesting to write about gun control laws, especially how they might effect deaths with kids and guns. I also thought it might be interesting to do research on the tobacco business and the lawsuits different states are conducting against them.

But I am more interested in exploring issues about drunk driving for a couple of different reasons. First, I think drunk driving is an issue that a lot of people can relate to because most people know that it is dangerous and it is a bad idea. For example, we hear and read messages about not driving drunk in a lot of different advertisements. Still, even though everyone knows it is a bad idea, there are still a lot of deaths and injuries that result from drunk driving.

Second, I’m interested in doing research on stronger enforcement of drunk driving laws because I am not sure I have made my own mind up about it. Like everyone else, I of course think drunk driving is bad and police and society should do everything they can do to prevent people from driving drunk. On the other hand, I also think it’s bad for police to pull over everyone they think might be drunk even when they don’t know for sure. Strong enforcement might stop a lot of drunk driving, but it also gives police more chances to violate individual liberties and rights.

I have done a little bit of research already and I don’t think I’m going to have any problem finding evidence to support my topic. Drunk driving seems to be a pretty common topic with a lot of different things written about it. I did a quick search of the library’s databases and the World Wide Web and I found thousands of different articles. I skimmed the titles and it seemed like a lot of them would be very relevant and useful for my subject.

Drunk driving is a serious problem and everyone agrees that we should do something about it. The question is what should “it” be? My hope is that through my research, I will learn more about how stronger enforcement of drunk driving laws can curtail drunk driving, and I hope to be able to convince my readers of this, too.

Argumentative Essay On Drunk Driving

Drunk Driving Drunk driving is a dangerous problem that needs to be addressed in our society, not only to cut back on the number of deaths caused by alcohol related accidents but also to ensure safety on public roads. Drunk driving is deliberately breaking the law, as well as a sign of indifference for other drivers. People that tend to go out for a few drinks often drink too much and still feel the need to drive themselves home. Thinking they are sober enough to tackle the drive home, sadly many people accept the challenge. People go out on the road, not knowing that they are endangering other drivers as well as themselves. Others do not trust people to drive them around so they would rather take the risk. Peoples’ prides are too high as well. Some cannot admit their drunk because they are afraid that they would appear as a weak person. Some risk taking their own lives, or worse, killing someone else instead of being ridiculed or made fun of. Surprisingly enough, people even think it is funny and cool to drive while drunk. Some teenagers think of it as some form of competition to see who can drive better while intoxicated. Some make the ridiculous statement, “I drive better drunk than sober.” This is not always the case. “ Alcohol can decrease the ability to judge car position as all as affecting night vision and color perception” (Hall). It is never ok to drive while drunk because you can mistakenly drive off the road as well as cause a fatal accident. Peer pressure is another reason why people drive while drunk. Some teens submit to peer pressure because they would rather fit in and be liked instead of seem like an outcast. Peer pressure can be a good thing as well. Some people have had to tell their friends before that they should not drive while intoxicated. Believe it or not, positive peer pressure can also encourage others not to make bad decisions. Those who succumb to negative peer pressure always end up in some kind of accident or trouble with the law. The aftermath of a car crash may be more than a loved one can bare. People tend to feel differently about this if someone they loved were to be killed or injured by a drunk driver. Travis Grayson killed a 6-year-old girl

Persuasive Essay On Drinking And Driving

Although there are many commercials, ads, documentaries, seminars, etc. on the reasons why people should never drink and drive, you would be surprised how many people still get behind the wheel after having had more than just a drink or two. We might not realize it but every day, about 28 people in the United States die in car crashes that involve a drunk driver. This equals to one death every 51 minutes! It’s so sad because these statistics could be way better if people had a well thought out plan prior to going out drinking. There has been research found relating to Drinking and Driving Behaviors since this topic is now becoming more of an issue in this generation than it was in the past. For instance, Schell, Chan, and Morral (2006), found that some people who have a DUI record tend to have pretty high expectations of themselves even after having some drinks in their system (e.g., “I feel more relaxed when drinking"), so with that being said those people with higher confidence were the ones more likely to be engaged in drinking and driving activity. While intoxicated, we often don’t consider any negative consequences that can happen to us but as you’ll see on the news, on social media, in the newspapers, etc. driving while under the influence can be very dangerous and even fatal.

Driving While Under The Influence Of Drunk Driving

If you choose to drive while under the influence of alcohol, you put yourself and others at risk. Such a decision is not only irresponsible but the cause of thousands of deaths and injury per year in the United States. To be exact, quoting the NHTSA, "In 2012, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes - one every 51 minutes." As the subjects in MADD's documentary "Lives Affected" all state, losing someone they love to drunk driving changes their lives completely. In many cases the drunk drivers who caused the accident abandoned the scene. You are required by law to assist those you have come in contact with in an accident. This should go without saying, especially if you were the one who caused it.

Summary: Do You Want To Make Friends With Debt Collector

That being said, there are dozens of studies and decades of research indicating how alcohol affects the human body and at what blood alcohol concentrations a person can no longer safely operate a vehicle. For some people, alcohol triggers the overconfidence of being able to handle just about anything. This allows and at times, even encourages a drunk person to drive in sheer fun and amusement.

Drinking And Driving Should Not Be Taken Lightly

Have you or someone you know been personally affected by someone who was drinking and driving? If you have then you understand the seriousness of why this is a major problem and should not be taken lightly. Many people have the understanding that they should not drink and drive when they are sober, when they start drinking however, their opinions most of the time change. Alcohol distorts a person 's judgement and allows their perception to be altered, people who are under the influence admit that their reaction time is slower than when they are not drinking. Thus, they make decisions and take chances that they would not take when they are sober, most of the time these decisions are fatal. When drinking alcohol,

The Relationship Between Marijuana And Alcohol

In 2014 there was 1,070 car accident deaths involving children from the age of 0-14 years of age, 19% of those car accident deaths were from alcohol Impaired drivers (CDC.gov,2016). Many individuals do not understand how critical it is to not drink and drive, the lives that are at stake when you decide to get behind the wheel and drive while under the influence. There are so many different types of public transportation that one can use to get to their destination. Many people do not know that there drunk be jade of the effects of the alcohol. Mentally they feel as if they are okay to drive up the street home, not realize how much of an effect the alcohol has done to their

Why People Drive Drunk Drivers

Secondly, when people decide to drive under the influence of alcohol or other substances, they are not only putting themselves at risk, but the people around them as well. When a person decides to get on the road when they have been drinking, the other drivers on the road are put in a potentially dangerous

Drunk Driving Case

Drunk driving has been around since before cars. People were riding camels, horses, and elephants intoxicated. The first DUI was in 1897. In 1969, Teddy Kennedy who was known to be a notorious drunk, drove his car off the Pike Bridge killing his passenger. People of all ages continued to drink, up until 1984 when the US Supreme Court passed a drinking age law requiring people to be twenty-one to legally drink or purchase alcohol. 1998 was the year that marked the signing of the Zero Tolerance Law for people under twenty-one. Zero tolerance in the aspect of driving while impaired. For adults it’s different, in 2004 the US Supreme Court development the .08 standard limit. Driving under the influence of alcohol occurs frequently, it affects not

The Consequences Of Drinking And Driving

Drinking and driving is a poor choice to make but some of the causes may be peer pressure, perhaps the person believes they are not that drunk, they are scared or ashamed to call someone for help. many people drink and drive without thinking of the consequences because drinking suppresses the ability to rationalize

Drunk Driving Research Paper

Drunk driving is a serious situation and some people aren’t serious about it. A lot of the time, people don’t think before they drink and drive. People need to think about how it’s going to affect them, their loved ones, other people, and other people’s loved ones. Every 51 minutes in the United States, someone is killed in a drunk driving accident. That is 27 people every day. If you get caught driving under the influence of alcohol, there are some serious consequences such as getting your license suspended, spending time in jail, getting a fine or a fee, getting an ignition interlock device, and getting enhanced penalties. You’ll get your license suspended when you get tested and if you test positive for having a BAC of .08% or more. Depending on the state,

Informative Essay On Drunk Driving

Drunk driving is a major problem and one that hits close to home for me. My uncle is in a wheelchair because he got into a car with a drunk driver. That is why I decided to do my paper on this subject. I think people should know not to drive drunk. The legal blood alcohol concentration or BAC is 0.08. You are considered alcohol impaired once you reach this level. In 2014, there were 9,967 fatalities where drunk drivers were involved. This is an average of 1 death every 53 minutes.

Drinking and Driving can really cause a huge disaster to yourself and as well to others. Whether you’re the safest driver on earth and their will always still be that one person who will still drive after a few drinks. Some may think that driving while under the intoxication won’t cause a thing so why not drink and drive as if nothing will happen to yourself or others more like as if you’re indestructible. A plethora of people don't understand the amount of how many accidents are caused by drunk driving. If the decision is made to go out for some drinks to be smart and always have a designated driver go along for any cause.

Why People Choose To Drink And Drive?

In addition, there are some general reason why people drink and drive. Social gathering is one of them. Most of the family gathering, work functions, holiday parties, and other parties involve alcohol. There are more accidents caused by drunk drivers around holidays. Furthermore, people use alcohol because they are

Drinking And Driving: A Common Thing In Today's Society

Drinking and driving is unfortunately a common thing in today's society. Millions of people around the world do it but they do not understand the serious consequences that can happen. Many people think that just because they got home safely they are fine, but that does not mean it was a good decision. When you drink and drive you not only put yourself in danger, you put others in as well. It is already known that drunk driving is a crime and you can be punished for it, but we need to find a way for people to commit to themselves that they will not drink and drive. I believe the only way to prevent drunk driving is to plan ahead in case of accidents.

Drunk Driving And Its Influence On Judgment Skills

It affects a lot of people not just the person driving. Also as you can see from the first paragraph there are a lot of arguments about what we should do to stop it from becoming a bigger problem should the drunk driving limit be lowered from .08 to .05 or should the cops just be more strict on it and make frequent road stops to check to see if people are drunk or not. If you are going to drink at least be smart enough to have a designated driver there so if you do get really drunk someone will be there to make sure you get home safe and in one piece. I have given you all these reasons why I think that it is bad but it’s really your decision what you do with your life, but don’t be stupid with your decision because if you are you may not be able to live long enough to make another decision. Why don’t we try to be the generation that tries to stop drunk driving and help the next

What Is Drunk Driving A Crime

Drunk driving is a major risk to you, your passengers, to other cars, and other people sharing the road with you. Driving while under the influence (DUI), also known as drunk driving or impaired driving, is a crime. Drunk driving has become a big problem, and I think we should have harsher penalties for drinking and driving because drunk drivers are getting younger and younger, drunk driving is dangerous for everyone, and too many innocent people are being killed.

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Drunk Driving and Its Consequences Essay

Issues around drunk-driving, consequences of drunk-driving.

Driving involves the mind of the driver; for safe driving, drivers should make the right decision when on road; they should follow traffic rules as required by the law. When driving under the influence of alcohol, the risk of causing an accident is high. When someone is intoxicated with alcohol to a state of high blood alcohol content (BAC), his or her decision making capacity is hampered.

Different states have different laws and legislations to legal drinking limit (blood alcohol content (BAC)), that someone can be allowed to drive. For instance some countries have blood alcohol content in excess of 0.05% or 0.08% defines the offense while others have higher levels. Despite the varying rates, the underlying principle is that drinking under the influence of alcohol is risky (Laurence & Gusfield, 1994). This paper discusses issues and consequences relating to drunk-driving.

In all states of the United States, it is illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol beyond the set limit per state, according the countries legal definition, drunk driving is driving when one has taken alcohol to the extent that his or her mental and motor skills are impaired.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about 40% of death on road accidents in 2006 was as a result of drunk-driving; it estimated that 17,941 people died in 2006 in alcohol-related collisions. It is the realisation of such statistics that each state in the country has its own drunk-driving reinforcement measures and methods.

When driving under the influence of alcohol, the driver ignores traffic signs, symbols, and lights; with the ignorance there is high chance that he will do the forbidden causing an accident.

In the United States for instance, the leading cause of deaths for people under the age of 24 years is motor vehicle wrecks, of which 40% are alcohol related. When driving, the driver is in control of the machine with the decisions that he will make, when someone is drunk, the decisions that he or she will make are likely to be triggered by the intoxication resulting to the wrong decision.

Some of the common forms of accidents that drunkenness leads to include getting into ditch, rolling, hitting another car (either stationary or otherwise), using the wrong lane resulting to head on collision, hitting pedestrians, and unnecessary hooting. When any form of above form of accidents occurs, the passengers/pedestrian risks the chance of dying or suffering from permanent disability (Buddy, 2007).

Accident related medical bills are a challenge to the authorities, they led to economic retardation and stretching of medical facilities. When someone is a victim of an accident, the paid and the psychological trauma is likely to affect his lifestyle thereafter, the rate at which he will be producing or contributing to personal economic development will be hampered; the United States is among those nations with high rates of drunk-driving.

The United States of America has enacted various laws and legislations to control drunk-drinking in the country. The policies include strict penalties on arrested offenders; the penalties include cancellation of one’s driving licence, imprisonment, and fine. Of the late, the country has enacted the Paradigm Developmental Model of Treatment (PDMT) which aims at rehabilitating drunk-driving drivers. To ensure that the laws are being followed, state governments’ works with traffic police to enforce the laws (Appel, 2009).

Appel, M. (2009). Must physicians report impaired driving? Rethinking a duty on a collision course with itself. The Journal of Clinical Ethics , 20 (2): 136–40.

Buddy, T. (2007). Drunk Driving – The Dangers . Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/drunk-driving-the-dangers-63002

Laurence, R., & Gusfield, F. (1994). Confronting Drunk Driving . Yale: Yale University Press

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Free Drunk Driving Essays

Writing an essay on drunk driving.

Drunk driving is a widespread problem that affects communities worldwide. It is estimated that alcohol-related crashes account for a significant proportion of road accidents each year, resulting in devastating consequences for individuals and society as a whole. These incidents are preventable, and raising awareness about the dangers of drunk driving is crucial in curbing its prevalence.

When writing an essay on drunk driving, it is essential to delve into the factors that contribute to this behavior. Here are possible points to explore:

• Explore the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol on decision-making, reaction times, overall driving ability, and drunk driving essay examples.
• Discuss the social and cultural factors that may influence individuals to engage in drunk driving and highlight the need for educational campaigns and strict enforcement of laws.
• Consider addressing the legal consequences of drunk driving, such as license suspension, fines, and potential imprisonment.
• Examine the role of technology, such as ignition interlock devices, in deterring individuals from driving while intoxicated.
• Provide recommendations on how communities can work together to create a safer environment by implementing stricter regulations, promoting designated drivers, and fostering a culture of responsible alcohol consumption.

By raising awareness through compelling drunk driving essay free examples, we can contribute to fostering responsible behavior and saving lives.

Drunk Driving: Driving Under Influence

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, twenty-eight people die in the United States every day as the result of an accident involving an alcohol-impaired driver” (Gale). I chose this quote because it provides information of how many people are dying every day....

• Drunk Driving

Impaired Driving And Driving Under The Influence

Mother of two killed by intoxicated driver while going to pick her kids up from school, family of 4 from Oakville killed going to son's hockey game by impaired driver, grandparents bringing their granddaughter out for ice cream struck and killed by impaired driver. Aren’t...

The Aftermath Of Driving Under Influence And Impaired Driving

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving i, in 2014 there were over 2,250 deaths due to car crashes. At least 1,250 of those deaths was due to impaired driving. The first thing that comes to mind when we think of impaired driving is alcohol. This...

Drunk Driving And Driving Under The Influence

Drunk driving is one of the main causes of deaths on the road. Teens, however, are more than half of the percent of drivers causing drunk crashes. Why is teenage drunk driving such a tragedy in the United States? Drunk driving is illegal in every...

Consequences of Driving under the Influence

Substance abuse has become a trend in our current society. Different generations engage in this to feel good and others to have fun. Most youths do it for enjoyment ignoring the side effects and the concerns it may cause. While driving, motorists should pay keen...

• Distracted Driving
• Under The Influence

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The Problem of Driving under the Influence

The problem with drinking and driving is the “mourning” after. South Africa is deemed as the world’s worst when it comes to drunk driving. Out of 195 countries, South Africa is rated number 1 in the world. South Africa is known to have a 58%...

Road Accidents in India and the Possible Solutions to This Problem

Road Accidents Road accident is a collision of a vehicle with another or an individual or animal hinderance. It is the most heeded man-made disaster. One person dies every four minutes due to road accidents in India. A total of 4,64,910 road accidents have been...

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Sauses and Sonsequences of Distracted Teens Driving

Crash! An accident has happened between two cars on the road. A distracted teen has hit the car of an elderly woman. The teen was distracted while driving. “By what?” you might ask, well let’s find out. For most teens learning to drive is a...

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Taxing of Those Involved in the Drunk Driving

Drunk driving is a widespread issue that alters the lives of many individuals. “One study estimates that eliminating alcohol would reduce traffic fatalities by 47 percent... equivalent to a reduction of between 20,000 and 24,000 fatalities annually” (Deep Blue). Situations compelling to drunk driving transforms...

Dangers and Penalties Behind Drunk Driving

Many people know the great dangers, and penalties of drinking and driving, however, people still decide to break the law and put others lives at risk. From the passenger to anyone driving in the streets, all those lives can be at risk when someone drives...

Understanding the Impact of Drunk Driving on Other People

Drunk driving is the crime of driving a vehicle with an excess of alcohol in the blood. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about one in three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetimes. In December of...

Health and Law Consequences of Drunk Driving

Is drunk driving really that big of a deal? Whether we realize it or not, drunk driving is a dangerous epidemic that continues to hurt our country. Drunk driving ruins relationships and tears families and friends apart, as it causes severe injuries or even death....

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Best topics on Drunk Driving

1. Drunk Driving: Driving Under Influence

2. Impaired Driving And Driving Under The Influence

3. The Aftermath Of Driving Under Influence And Impaired Driving

4. Drunk Driving And Driving Under The Influence

5. Consequences of Driving under the Influence

6. The Problem of Driving under the Influence

7. Road Accidents in India and the Possible Solutions to This Problem

8. Sauses and Sonsequences of Distracted Teens Driving

9. Taxing of Those Involved in the Drunk Driving

10. Dangers and Penalties Behind Drunk Driving

11. Understanding the Impact of Drunk Driving on Other People

12. Health and Law Consequences of Drunk Driving

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Essays on Drunk Driving

We all know the dangers of driving while being intoxicated, but your drunk driving essay should cover them in detail. Drinking even a small amount of alcohol leads to disruptions in the work of various systems in the human body. Many drunk driving essays explore the fact that driving while drunk leads to violation of traffic rules, enhances the risk of an accident with serious consequences to human health and life, as well as damage to material property. There is not a single driver who has not heard about the severity of punishment for alcohol intoxication while driving, but some choose to ignore it. However, statistics show that 25% of lethal driving accidents happen because the driver who lost control of the car while being intoxicated. As you write essays on drunk driving look through our essay samples below – our drunk driving essay samples may help you discover some new points on the subject.

Alcohol and Driving Alcohol shouldn't be consumed before or while operating a motor vehicle. It changes the victim's brain chemistry, which lowers their ability for sound reasoning. Driving requires drivers to read traffic signs correctly, which is impossible to do while intoxicated. Driving while under the influence of any substance on...

The goal of the study was to examine the effects of DUI courts on self-reported drunk driving behavior, future DUI arrests, and other offenses related to alcohol consumption. The assessment is focused on determining whether DUI courts decreased the number of future DUI arrests. The authors made the assumption that...

Words: 2569

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Drunk Driving: A Major Issue Drunk driving is also a major issue all over the world. The main issue with driving while intoxicated is that it endangers not only the driver s life but also the lives of other passengers. According to reports, collisions are the leading source of accidental fatalities...

Words: 1200

Identification of knowledge and purpose for referralStan is a 35-year-old male adult who was recommended for specialized alcohol abuse therapeutic assistance. Stan has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol several times. Stan nevertheless maintains that he is not an alcohol abuser, despite the facts raised in the...

Words: 2304

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Episodes from poet’s life are recounted in essays | DON NOBLE

Students at the University of Alabama in the late ’60s and early ’70s will remember James Seay. Tall, slender, with long brown hair, and a black eye patch over his right eye, Seay taught poetry writing and was a presence.

His first book, “Let Not Your Hart,” won the prestigious Wesleyan Prize for poetry in 1970. The verse is luminously accessible, a miracle by today’s standards, and many concern his childhood in Mississippi, in Panola County — just east of the Delta.

More: Novel explores apocalypse and religion in Mississippi | DON NOBLE

Seay wrote of poverty. A poem about fishing for catfish by hand, grabbling in Yokna Bottom, concludes “The well-fed do not wade this low river.”

There are poems of hard work, often amusing and admiring.

“Kelly Dug a Hole” is a hymn of praise to simple tasks done perfectly. “Kelly’s hole was true.” If, one day, the building collapses, the last part to fail will be where Kelly dug.

And there is of course a poem about shopping, with his father, for a glass eye after losing his eye to a lawn mower. The boy knows the salesman “would not find my soft brown eye, not in a thousand leather trays.”

Now, half a century and six volumes of poetry later, James Seay has published a book of 20 essays, “Come! Come! Where? Where?: Essays.”

The first — and the last — speak of a loss even greater than the loss of his eye. Seay and his ex-wife, Lee Smith, lost their son Josh to mental illness and early death at 33.

Several return to the themes of “Let Not Your Hart.” Some recount stories of laboring and as foreman of laborers.

In the ironically titled “Big Boss Man,” set in 1959, he is supervising a crew of Black and white workers constructing a classroom building at Ole Miss. The racial and class currents are almost too complex to relate. The Black workers work with and are separate from the white workers. The blue-collar whites resent Seay, the educated boy and their boss. But he concludes, generously, that the surliest among them is just trying to feed his family.

The essays are scattered through time and space.

There are several accounts of fishing trips, a few of literary commentary, and a fresh essay on some places in Faulkner that are Seay’s own places.

The funniest piece is “Avian Voices: Trying Not To Kill a Mockingbird.” In addition to giving musical pleasure, mockingbirds can be very irritating

One favorite is his 1987 visit or attempted visit to Chekhov’s grave. That day there happened to be a funeral for a Soviet official. The guard was under orders to allow no one else into the cemetery.

Seay explained, pled, that he might never again be in the country. “Nyet.”

Desperate to be admitted, Seay has his translator tell the guard “I am a relative of Chekhov”: “My adult life has been given to the cause of literature.”

And that’s the truth.

Don Noble’s newest book is Alabama Noir, a collection of original stories by Winston Groom, Ace Atkins, Carolyn Haines, Brad Watson, and eleven other Alabama authors.

“Come! Come! Where? Where?: Essays”

Author: James Seay

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2024

Price: $22.95

Home — Essay Samples — Law, Crime & Punishment — Drunk Driving — The Issue of Drunk Driving

The Issue of Drunk Driving

• Categories: Drunk Driving

About this sample

Words: 752 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 752 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Scope of the problem, causes and contributing factors, consequences of drunk driving, current interventions and prevention efforts, evaluation of effectiveness, proposed solutions.

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2021). Drunk driving. https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Substance use and driving. https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/substance-use-driving

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Bribing the Navy Is Easier (and More Entertaining) Than You Might Think

In “Fat Leonard,” Craig Whitlock investigates one of the worst corruption scandals in U.S. military history.

Rear Adm. Samuel Locklear III, left, pretending to lift Leonard Francis off the floor at a dinner party in 2003. Locklear has denied having any involvement in Francis’ misdeeds and was cleared of wrongdoing by the Navy. Credit... NCIS-DCIS

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By Nicolas Niarchos

Nicolas Niarchos is a freelance journalist whose writing on military matters has appeared in The Nation and The New Yorker. He is at work on a book about the supply chain for battery metals.

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FAT LEONARD: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy, by Craig Whitlock

In ports throughout the Western Pacific, the brave officers of the United States Navy gulped down lobster thermidor , truffle royale, Osetra caviar, white asparagus custard and kombou seaweed jelly; they guzzled gallons of Cristal and Dom Pérignon; they puffed boxes of Cohiba cigars.

Near the end of a meal, they sometimes received what Leonard Glenn Francis , the venal military contractor who was picking up the tabs, called “oriental dessert”: an “armada” of sex workers hired to flash their breasts and perform intimate acts.

An attendee described one of Francis’ dinners as a “Roman orgy.” At one of Francis’ most sordid parties, in Manila in 2007, a replica of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s corncob pipe was used as a sex toy. At least one of Francis’ dinners cost more than $3,000 a head. In return, Navy officials looked the other way as his companies charged far above the regional rate to service American vessels.

In “Fat Leonard,” a masterly investigation into one of the Navy’s worst scandals in modern times, the Washington Post journalist Craig Whitlock brings to bear 10 years of research to show how Francis came to be known as Leonard the Legend, Mr. Make-It-Happen, Fat Bastard, and, most of all, as Fat Leonard.

Francis rose from fairly comfortable origins on the Malaysian island of Penang and followed his father into the family business in the 1980s as a “husbanding contractor,” providing services like food and water delivery, bilge pumping, tugboat hiring and a whole manner of other prosaic but important logistical tasks that fleets need to operate.

His plan, Whitlock writes, was to become the Malaysian Aristotle Onassis. He learned early that the captains of merchant ships, “after weeks at sea, gladly accepted his offers to get drunk and meet women” in return for “all sorts of favors.” When the U.S. Navy came into the equation, in the early 1990s, Francis went into overdrive. “The Navy’s byzantine accounting policies made it easy for Francis to jack up his prices with minimal resistance,” Whitlock notes. (While no one knows exactly how much Francis stole, he has admitted to making at least $35 million off the U.S. taxpayer.)

The word “farce” comes from the French word for “stuffing” and originally referred to the stuffing of comedies into serious religious plays. Whitlock’s book is a farce of the highest order, as richly stuffed as the liver of a foie gras goose. His reporting is astonishingly detailed, thanks to the “several terabytes” of leaked government data he was able to obtain. Reading “Fat Leonard,” you almost feel sick at the amount of consumption that Francis visited upon the U.S. sailors who became his lap dogs in exchange for champagne, sex and cash.

By 2013, he was on a first-name basis with captains and admirals and even had the power to redirect U.S. Navy ships to ports where he could make the most money off them. As Francis became wealthier, his weight ballooned to almost 500 pounds. Whitlock tracks this detail with perhaps too much glee, but he also usefully makes clear that the magnate’s girth was yet another tool in his box: Francis repeatedly used tales of his gastric bypass surgery to show his vulnerable side and build a rapport with officers.

Whitlock is particularly good at revealing the way that Francis profited from the “entitlement” of Navy officers who seemed to think that they had a God-given right to accept freebies in return for wasting U.S. government funds and leaking classified information, including ship schedules. In 2011, a captain’s wife returned a Versace handbag she was gifted by Francis not because of ethics concerns but because the gold lettering was cracked. Before a dinner in 2007, an officer wrote that rather than having one type of champagne, he’d “like to compare”: “Dom Pérignon, Cristal and Bollinger’s.” At another party, that same officer poured champagne off the top of a skyscraper in Singapore, just to show that he could.

Unsurprisingly, Francis led a squalid existence. As Whitlock notes, he “treated women as expendable objects,” rotating between multiple mistresses and sequestering one of his partners away from her children.

In 2015, two years after Francis was finally arrested, he pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy charges and faced up to 25 years in prison. He eventually managed to barter and charm his judges and prosecutors into letting him live in a luxury mansion in San Diego while he awaited sentencing. He even hired his own guards, Pablo Escobar-style. Francis made a mistake, however: He escaped to Venezuela, where he was captured and used as collateral in a 2023 prisoner exchange with the United States.

In many ways, Francis is the antihero of Whitlock’s book, with the Navy and its officers filling the role of villains. Francis collected kompromat on his clients, photos of officers carousing and signed dinner menus, but he doesn’t seem to have needed to use much of it while he was in business, so willing were his marks to receive gifts.

After Francis’ arrest, the Navy stymied scrutiny and tried to protect culprits, despite the serious national security implications of the leaks that Francis was able to extract. As one of Whitlock’s sources tells him, “Leonard Francis would have made a wonderful intelligence officer.”

In the end, scores of Navy top brass were let off lightly while lower ranks were thrown under the bus. Francis is set to be sentenced soon , but, as Whitlock makes clear, the culture of entitlement he exploited has gotten off scot-free.

FAT LEONARD : How One Man Bribed, Bilked and Seduced the U.S. Navy | By Craig Whitlock | Simon & Schuster | 460 pp. | $32.50

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