Drinking and Driving in Cities and Country Sides

by Seiji Teruya, OCU

Drunk driving is one of the most serious issues facing us in this mechanized society we live in. Despite the seriously heavy consequences that can be caused by drunk driving, it is easy so to do and so hard to exterminate. One of the leading causes of this behavior might be the poor public transportation available to us.

The connection between drinking driving and public transportation can be seen in a survey conducted by Japanese police department. According to the data, the top three prefectures that have the highest numbers of cases of drunk driving are Okinawa, Hokkaido, and Shimane. Interestingly, those prefectures actually have lower populations than the others where they have less numbers of drinking and driving.

Another thing in common among the three prefectures is the high rate of care uses because of poor public transportation system. Not to mention, there are no trains in Okinawa, and it is virtually impossible to find convenient public transportation out of cities in Hokkaido and Shimane as well.

Additionally, most of the bus services close their business day around midnight when most people are still having drinks at bars. Even though they close, taxis and designated driver services (such as Daiko) are still available, and they are one somewhat more expensive way for people who live in lower income ratio to get home from the bar. In fact, in Tokyo or Osaka where trains or subways are available for a wide-range of time, the number of drinking and driving cases is very low. In 2015, those two prefectures had less than 0.55% while Okinawa had 2.0% of the cases.

Finally, as a way of preventing recurrence of drinking and driving, authorities should impose enlightening and humiliating public lectures on people in the community if they commit drunk driving offences. This can make it possible to educate other adult drivers who have less of a chance to actually receive lectures about drinking driving based on real experiences. Also, the risk of being exposed to the public or local community can be a strong deterrent for those who still underestimate the very serious danger of drinking and driving.