Drinking and Driving

Today, I went to conversation class. We were talking about drinking and driving. Many drunk drivers cause serious car accidents. According to my textbook, the accident of drinking and driving accounts for approximately half of accidents in the U.S. That's a lot!

In Japan, drinking and driving is a major offense. These day, it has been punishing more severely. If you get caught for DUI, you must pay a fine around $10,000, or you must serve a five-year term in prison. Moreover, you should not get in a car when the driver has been drinking because the all passengers who have a driver's license must also pay a fine for $5,000, or they must serve a three-year term in prison. Even if you are not passenger, you have to be careful. If you give alcohol or provide a car to a drunk driver, you must pay a fine or serve in prison. So, bar owners and party hosts must be careful!

However, when I was little, DUI was less seriously taken. Many people in Japan did not care about it. When I was four, my family went to my uncle's house. My relatives got together and enjoyed eating and drinking. My uncle, who drank alcohol, gave us a ride home, and we ended up having a car accident. It was the first time for me to ride an ambulance. We all had injuries. My younger brother broke his leg and needed to wear a cast. I was little at the time, but I already knew DUI was very dangerous.

Today my conversation partner, who is from Libya, said there is no alcohol in her country. Drinking alcohol is forbidden by law in Libya. Moreover, people are not allowed to do it from religious reasons. She said that there are still many problems in Libya. Many drivers don't follow traffic laws. They don't stop at stop signs, overspeed and drive without license. If people broke traffic laws, police will pull them over. However, the police usually gives them only a warning. Police might say, "Be careful. Don't do it again." and "Go."  She said it should change some day.






 Today's Vocabulary
・ account for : phrasal verb / ～の割合を占める
　　ex) Smokers used to account for more than 80%. : かつては8割以上も愛煙家がいた。
・ a major offense : 重大な犯罪
・ get caught : 逮捕される
・ DUI : driving under the influence / 飲酒および麻薬の影響下（服用時）の運転
・ fine : noun / 罰金
・ serve : verb / 服役する
・ serve a term in prison : 服役する
・ serve a term of _ years in prison : ＿年の刑期を勤める
・ serve a _-year term in prison : 懲役＿年の刑に服す
・ drunk driver : 酒気帯び運転者
・ take : verb / 解釈する、受け取る
　　ex) ・He will take us for pushover. : 彼は私たちを甘く見るだろう。
・ forbidden : adjective / 禁断の、禁制の、禁じられた
　　ex) This is the forbidden zone. : ここは立ち入り禁止地帯です。
・ pull over : phrasal verb / 車を路肩に停止させる
　　ex) A police officer pulled me over. : 警察官が私の車を止めました。
　　ex) Pull it over. : 車を止めて。
・ give a warning : 警告する
・ give someone a warning : 警告する