Drunk Driving, Outline Example

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audient to prevent drunk driving

Thesis Statement:

Thesis Statement: Drunk driving is an epidemic that continues growing with the pass of the time, if we simply take a few steps against drunk driving we can help decrease this epidemic.

Introduction

Attention Getter

Every day in America, another 28 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2011.)

Relevance

• We need to consider the question; why do people prefer to drink and drive? Another important question is; how many of you guys at one time of your life driven when you were drunk??
• I have enough experience with drinking and I quit drinking about five years ago. I am therefore qualified to speak about the topic.

Credibility:

• Recall story about my friend receiving phone call that his brother, Peter, had been involved in a drunken driving accident.
• I have also witnessed a number of road accidents and about 28% of them are attributed to drunk driving. I therefore confirm that the topic needs great attention.
• This topic has also been a focus for research and the findings indicate that there is need to address drunk driving as a growing epidemic in the society.

Preview main points/thesis statement.

• Drunk driving has already been pointed out as a critical epidemic that continues growing with the pass of the time in our society, it is therefore imperative that we must consider some vital steps against drunk driving so that we decrease this epidemic.

Transition: having identified drunk driving as an epidemic in our society today, lets start with some facts about this controversial topic

Need

• Drunk driving occurs every day, and many lives are taken because of one-person choice.
• Specific problem: The problems that are associated with drunk driving include higher risks of accidents, injuries as well as deaths.
• Unfulfilled needs: appropriate actions are needed to stop this menace that is continuously taking away the lives of innocent people every day.
• Despite the concerted efforts in this field however, drunk driving has persisted as a grievous national epidemic with tragic effects on many victims throughout the year.
• Every 52 minutes on average, someone is killed in a drunken driving crash (10,288 people in total in 2013), (Madd.org “About drunk Driving”).
• About 900,000 people are arrested each years and 1/3 of those are repeat offenders. (drinkinganddriving.org “Drunk Driving Statistics”).
• The annual cost of alcohol- related crashes totals more than $51 billion. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “ Impaired Driving: Get the Facts”).
• An average drunk driver will drive drunk 87 times before being pulled over. (Word Press, “Statistics”).
• Three in every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in his/her life (NHTSA, 2011).
• This problem relates to the audience. It is a common practice among people to overlook the dry statistics and fail to relate them to real lives as well as real people who have been involved in these accidents.

Internal summary statement

Each injury or death arising from an accident that is attributed to drunk driving is absolutely preventable.

Transition

After you known all those incredible facts, I will now proceed to discuss some important things that can help us to prevent drunk driving.

Satisfaction

We all need to actively help prevent drunk driving. Drunk driving is one of the many social problems that are characterized with resistance to simple solutions by the victims. However, it is important to consider some important actions that have been proven to have significant role in reducing the risks that are associated with drunk driving:

• Plan ahead. In case the driver must take alcohol, you need to consider some important action plans.
• Put money aside for a taxi.
• Have a designated driver.
• Have a back up designated driver.
• Never let anyone drive drunk.
• Offer to drive them home.
• Offer to get them a taxi.
• Stop being afraid to speak up.
• Hosting a party
• Make sure people are leaving with a sober driver.
• Offer for them to have a sober driver take them home.
• Offer for them to stay the night.
• Take their keys.

Internal summary

Considering and implementing the things mentioned above will increase safety on the road and evade dangerous situations. If you suspect that a driver in another vehicle is impaired due to drinking, report the case to the police by calling 9-1-1 while keeping a safe distance from that vehicle.

Transition

If we put in practice all those things that I said before I am pretty sure all those irrational statistics about drunk driving will decrease.

Visualization

• If we actively start taking the steps planning ahead, and not allowing anyone to drive while drunk, and if hosting a party make sure no one leaves drunk, then we are all helping to prevent more fatalities due to drunk driving.
• If we don’t start preventing drunk driving actively then, it is going to become a bigger crisis than it already is. More and more people will continue to perish in road accidents that are caused by drunk driving and can otherwise be prevented.

Transition

Everyone is always hearing about a drunken driving incident that happens, but are you going to step up and help to prevent this problem that is increasing with the pass of the timeAction

It is the responsibility of all people to prevent drunk driving!

• We all need to make a conscience effect to plan ahead.
• Stop letting people drive drunk because you think someone else is going to say something.
• Never let anyone leave your house drunk because you are responsible for that person’s actions when they cant make them.

Works Cited

Drinking and Driving.org. “Drunk Driving Statistics.” Drinking And Driving .Org. Drinking and Driving .org, Web. 23 July 2012. <http://www.drinkinganddriving.org/>.

U.S. Department of Transportation. “About Drunk Driving.”

MADD – About Drunk Driving. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 July 2012. <http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/>.

Word Press. “Statistics.” Drunk Driving Statistics, Drinking and Driving Stats |. Word Press, Web. 23 July 2012. <http://dontdiedrunk.org/drunk-driving-stats/>.