Essay Example on Drinking and Driving

Brookfield designed a theory demonstrating the importance of critical reflection in beliefs. In this essay, I’ll be using Brookfield’s framework to analyze and challenge an assumption I’ve heard from many of my peers, “teenagers drink and drive less than adults.” This assumption shapes our ideas on how teens driving under the influence affect the community versus how adults in the same circumstances affect the community, it also calls into question one’s morality and judgment. It’s also fair to say that the expectations of teens shapes how they act more than it does adults. This could be why we’re finding teens drinking and driving less and are therefore safer drivers. But for this assumption to be plausible, we need evidence. 

This particular assumption formed in various ways; however, the one most prominent is eyewitnesses. At a bar you’ll see many adults drinking; this is considered a social norm in most places. But sooner or later you see them hop in their car and leave, sometimes speeding or even swerving. While the statistics on this assumption are inconclusive and vary yearly, it’s been instilled in teens from a young age that drinking and driving is a harmful combination. But when adults were teens, things were different. There were fewer laws in place for this occurrence due to the generational discrepancies between past generations. But some adults have failed to learn that getting behind the wheel after a drink can have serious consequences. And while they know driving under the influence is risky, they continue to do it. Today, teens learn from their mistakes, whereas some adults are set in their ways. There are, of course, many things influencing drinking. One factor is gender. Men can often drink more than women due to their weight and metabolisms, even though individuals at other times might have believed differently. 

If this assumption was different, it would be “teenagers drink and drive MORE than adults.” Changing this assumption then allows you to consider adults as more responsible than teens and therefore smarter when it comes to drinking. And unlike teens, drinking is a norm for adults. But then again, adults have more access to alcohol, which could increase the likelihood of them drinking and driving. In some cases, they drive less than teens, but it doesn’t always mean they will. The legal drinking limit is different for both parties. So why are adults drinking and driving when they have more than this amount in their system? This is their reward, but teens suffer severe consequences. The roles that play into teens being less cautious than adults leads to a destructive behavior that encourages adults to patronize teens. If it was an adult who drank and drove it’d be considered normal, but if it was someone underaged, it’s highly dangerous. This can be due to socialization in certain communities where driving under the influence is socially constructed. Regardless of these encounters, there are still too many people driving under the influence and too many people dying in car accidents.

We now have to develop a skeptical analysis for our assumptions, meaning that we need to challenge them. We have to be rational and keep in mind that not every place shares the same assumptions. In the drinking and driving case, everyone benefits. If there’s less teens driving under the influence then there’s less car accidents, and therefore less chances of death. The same goes for if it were adults. But if we did end up changing the assumption, it wouldn’t be easy. This is because of all of the educational campaigns surrounding drinking and driving, but one way would be to start encouraging drinking. Taking away the stigmatism that comes with alcohol could be enough to tilt the scales. However, if this assumption did change, it would be bad for everyone involved. The case rates in drinking and driving cases would likely rise; the same goes for hit and runs. The only people benefiting would be the corporations in control of the production of alcohol and lawmakers. Without this law, our society wouldn’t be able to properly function. And it would definitely take a long time to recover from some very disturbing statistics.