Is someone who has received 2 OWIs within 3 years considered an alcoholic?

Answer 1

One definition of an alcoholic is that alcohol has caused problems for the individual. The examples used are, loosing a job, being late for work because of a hangover, having arguments with your spouse, driving while impaired or behavior which makes you feel remorse after you've "sobered up". If a person cannot control his behavior when drinking, drinks so much that he/she demonstrates faulty judgment and drives while impaired, he is by at least one definition, an alcoholic. Most people will have an occasional drink of wine when he/she is "out", but responsible people recognize that they will be driving and either refuse to drink at all or limit themselves to a very small amount, what might be considered a "taste" to an experienced drinker. Responsible people do not allow themselves to have a second drink if they will be required to drive. Most don't even have the first. Extensive studies on the effects of alcohol have conclusively demonstrated that even that first drink affects your reaction time and starts to impair your abilities. The United States allows the highest level of BAC (blood alcohol content) for drivers OF ALL OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS! Many nations require that drivers have a BAC of 0.00%, meaning that you can't legally drive if you have ANY alcohol in your system. Most nations require that BAC levels be considerably below the levels in the United States. We could certainly reduce the death and destruction caused by drunk driving if we were serious about changing our laws.