Worksheet4: Evaluating existing
public policies
Date: December 10, 2007 Group Members: John Smith,
Jane Doe, and Joe Shmoe
Your problem (phrase):
The
large number of teenagers in this country who drive drunk.
State one of the major existing policies that attempts to
deal with the social problem:
States have lowered the blood alcohol content (BAC) for DWI
to .08.
What are the advantages of this policy (consider
effectiveness, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):
When
states lowered the BAC from .1 to .08 for DWI, this made the law applicable to
more drivers with a BAC that still also posed a high risk for an accident.
What are the disadvantages of this policy (consider the
effectiveness, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):
Some
people view that the BAC is still not low enough.
Based on your evaluation of the advantages and
disadvantages, should the current policy be totally replaced, strengthened, or
improved? What advantages, if any, from the current policy should be retained?
What disadvantages, if any, should be eliminated?
Lowering
the limit from .1 to .08 for DWI was a step in the right direction. However, since data indicate that a BAC of
even .06 results in accidents and fatalities, the BAC for DWI should be lowered
even further.