For decades, government agencies and private organizations have worked diligently to try to reduce and stop drunk driving. With so many lives lost to drunk driving incidents, there is a need to find a way to successfully reduce them and keep them low.

However, despite all attempts, there are still a large number of accidents involving an impaired driver. There is a suggestion, according to U.S. News and World Report, that a new approach to handling people found guilty of driving under the influence could be the solution.

The past

The main way that the courts punish drunk drivers is to punish them. They will often end up behind bars for a time. They may have to complete an alcohol addiction program or do some community service. However, these punishments are generally short and have no lasting impact on someone who has a drinking problem.

The solution

Experts say that changing the handling of drunk driving incidents from punishing the person to helping the person could be the key to effectively reducing this problem. The idea is to treat underlying issues that cause the person to drink and drive.

Any person who gets behind the wheel after drinking too much has a lack of self-control. A person who does this repeatedly ay have deeper issues, such as addiction. Experts say that if you can target these issues and help a person to overcome them, you can stop that person from driving while under the influence in the future.

The high-risk drivers

The suggestion is to target high-risk drivers. These are people who meet certain criteria. They may use both drugs and alcohol together, have prior DUI arrests or drive with a BAC of .15% or higher. Drivers who fit at least one of those criteria are most likely to cause a fatal accident, which means they are the most dangerous on the roads.