There is Extraordinary Exposure in the United States to the Risks of Injury GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

There is extraordinary exposure in the United States to the risks of injury and death from motor vehicle accidents. More than 80 percent of all households own passenger cars or light trucks and each of these is driven an average of more than 11,000 miles each year. Almost one-half of fatally injured drivers have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.1 percent or higher. For the average adult, over five ounces of 80 proof spirits would have to be consumed over a short period of time to attain these levels. A third of drivers who have been drinking, but fewer than 4 percent of all drivers, demonstrate these levels. Although less than 1 percent of drivers with BAC’s of 0.1 percent or more are involved in fatal crashes, the probability of their involvement is 27 times higher than for those without alcohol in their blood.

There are a number of different approaches to reducing injuries in which intoxication plays a role. Based on the observation that excessive consumption correlates with the total alcohol consumption of a country’s population, it has been suggested that higher taxes on alcohol would reduce both. While the heaviest drinkers would be taxed the most, anyone who drinks at all would be penalized by this approach.

To make drinking and driving a criminal offense is an approach directed only at intoxicated drivers. In some states, the law empowers police to request breath tests of drivers cited for any traffic offense and elevated BAC can be the basis for arrest. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates, however, that even with increased arrests, there are about 700 violations for every arrest. At this level there is little evidence that laws serve as deterrents to driving while intoxicated. In Britain, motor vehicle fatalities fell 25 percent immediately following implementation of the Road Safety Act in 1967. As Britishers increasingly recognized that they could drink and not be stopped, the effectiveness declined, although in the ensuing three years the fatality rate seldom reached that observed in the seven years prior to the Act.

Whether penalties for driving with a high BAC or excessive taxation on consumption of alcoholic beverages will deter the excessive drinker responsible for most fatalities is unclear. In part, the answer depends on the extent to which those with high BAC’s involved in crashes are capable of controlling their intake in response to economic or penal threat. Therapeutic programs which range from individual and group counseling and psychotherapy to chemotherapy constitute another approach, but they have not diminished the proportion of accidents in which alcohol was a factor. In the few controlled trials that have been reported there is little evidence that rehabilitation programs for those repeatedly arrested for drunken behavior have reduced either the recidivism or crash rates. Thus far, there is no firm evidence that Alcohol Safety Action Project-supported programs, in which rehabilitation measures are requested by the court,have decreased recidivism or crash involvement for clients exposed to them, although knowledge and attitudes have improved. One thing is clear, however; unless we deal with automobile and highway safety and reduce accidents in which alcoholic intoxication plays a role, many will continue to die.

“There is extraordinary exposure in the United States to the risks of injury and death from motor vehicle accidents.”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 6 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analysing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. The author is primarily concerned with

(A) interpreting the results of surveys on traffic fatalities
(B) reviewing the effectiveness of attempts to curb drunk driving
(C) suggesting reasons for the prevalence of drunk driving in the United States
(D) analyzing the causes of the large number of annual traffic fatalities
(E) making an international comparison of experience with drunk driving

2. It can be inferred that the 1967 Road Safety Act in Britain

(A) changed an existing law to lower the BAC level that defined driving while intoxicated
(B) made it illegal to drive while intoxicated
(C) increased the number of drunk driving arrests
(D) placed a tax on the sale of alcoholic drinks
(E) required drivers convicted under the law to undergo rehabilitation therapy

3. The author implies that a BAC of 0.1 percent

(A) is unreasonably high as a definition of intoxication for purposes of driving
(B) penalizes the moderate drinker while allowing the heavy drinker to consume without limit
(C) will operate as an effective deterrent to over 90 percent of the people who might drink and drive
(D) is well below the BAC of most drivers who are involved in fatal collisions
(E) proves that a driver has consumed five ounces of 80 proof spirits over a short time

4. With which of the following statements about making driving while intoxicated a criminal offense versus increasing taxes on alcohol consumption would the author most likely agree?

(A) Making driving while intoxicated a criminal offense is preferable to increased taxes on alcohol because the former is aimed only at those who abuse alcohol by driving while intoxicated.
(B) Increased taxation on alcohol consumption is likely to be more effective in reducing traffic fatalities because taxation covers all consumers and not just those who drive.
(C) Increased taxation on alcohol will constitute less of an interference with personal liberty because of the necessity of blood alcohol tests to determine BAC’s in drivers suspected of intoxication.
(D) Since neither increased taxation nor enforcement of criminal laws against drunk drivers is likely to have any significant impact, neither measure is warranted.
(E) Because arrests of intoxicated drivers have proved to be expensive and administratively cumbersome, increased taxation on alcohol is the most promising means of reducing traffic fatalities.

5. The author cites the British example in order to

(A) show that the problem of drunk driving is worse in Britain than in the U.S.
(B) prove that stricter enforcement of laws against intoxicated drivers would reduce traffic deaths
(C) prove that a slight increase in the number of arrests of intoxicated drivers will not deter drunk driving
(D) suggest that taxation of alcohol consumption may be more effective than criminal laws
(E) demonstrate the need to lower BAC levels in states that have laws against drunk driving

6. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the author’s statement that the effectiveness of proposals to stop the intoxicated driver depends, in part, on the extent to which the high-BAC driver can control his intake?

(A) Even if the heavy drinker cannot control his intake, criminal laws against driving while intoxicated can deter him from driving while intoxicated.
(B) Rehabilitation programs aimed at drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated have not significantly reduced traffic fatalities.
(C) Many traffic fatalities are caused by factors unrelated to excessive alcohol consumption on the part of the driver.
(D) Even though severe penalties may not deter intoxicated drivers, these laws will punish them for the harm they cause if they drive while intoxicated.
(E) Some sort of therapy may be effective in helping problem drinkers to control their intake of alcohol, thereby keeping them off the road.

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