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Drinking and Driving Don't Mix
- By Brenda Williams
- Published 06/1/2009
- Automotive
- Unrated
Brenda Williams
Automobile Transport Company Vehicle Shipping Company
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How many drinks does it take to take the life of someone else? Just one. In a society that downplays the seriousness behind drinking alcohol, we need to take it upon ourselves to know our limits and to be smart when we go out and drink alcohol. We may think that we are ok to drive because we feel “fine,” but remember that all it takes to impair your judgement is one alcoholic beverage. With the population continuing to grow, we really cannot afford to risk drinking alcohol and getting behind the wheel. Can you think of other reasons why drinking alcoholic beverages prior to driving might not be such a hot idea?
Put yourself in someone else's shoes. If you were ever drunk and knowingly got behind the wheel and still arrived home safely, consider yourself lucky- not smart. What you did was not only incredibly stupid in the fact that it demonstrates your lack of good judgement, but it could've very well resulted in your death or the death of someone else. Pretty sobering, isn't it? When I was a police officer, my colleagues once responded to an accident in which four young men had been drinking alcoholic beverages. The “least drunk” of the four got behind the wheel. None of them were wearing their seat belts. They were speeding down a road late at night. When the road curved, they overcompensated and flew off the road, crashing into a cement structure. These four men were all ejected from the vehicle, and parts of them were found in the nearby trees. Is that really the way you want to be remembered?
We need to think about things like this because alcohol can create gruesome situations for our loved ones as well as for ourselves if we are not careful. Keep in mind that it is never healthy to go out with friends or loved ones with the sole purpose of getting drunk. If you do go out and know that the possibility is out there that you might have a few drinks, make sure that you plan ahead. Do you have a designated driver to drive you home? Letting someone know that you'll need to be picked up later that night is better than risking your life or the life of others to drive yourself home. You can only be lucky so many times before you're suddenly not. Rolling the windows down or turning up the music is no way to sober up. The only way to make sure that you are sober enough to drive is by not drinking at all.
If you find that you are faced with a lot of drinking versus driving situations, then you need to take a really long and hard look at yourself and at the type of life that you are leading. What sorts of people are you hanging out with that they allow or encourage you and others to become inebriated? Are these really people that you want to call “friends”? Sometimes prevention is better than cure. You don't have to wait until you get your first DWI to have the 'wake up call' you needed to get your life in order. You are in charge of yourself as well as your destiny. Grab a hold of the reins now and do the right thing so that you don't live with regrets later.
Put yourself in someone else's shoes. If you were ever drunk and knowingly got behind the wheel and still arrived home safely, consider yourself lucky- not smart. What you did was not only incredibly stupid in the fact that it demonstrates your lack of good judgement, but it could've very well resulted in your death or the death of someone else. Pretty sobering, isn't it? When I was a police officer, my colleagues once responded to an accident in which four young men had been drinking alcoholic beverages. The “least drunk” of the four got behind the wheel. None of them were wearing their seat belts. They were speeding down a road late at night. When the road curved, they overcompensated and flew off the road, crashing into a cement structure. These four men were all ejected from the vehicle, and parts of them were found in the nearby trees. Is that really the way you want to be remembered?
We need to think about things like this because alcohol can create gruesome situations for our loved ones as well as for ourselves if we are not careful. Keep in mind that it is never healthy to go out with friends or loved ones with the sole purpose of getting drunk. If you do go out and know that the possibility is out there that you might have a few drinks, make sure that you plan ahead. Do you have a designated driver to drive you home? Letting someone know that you'll need to be picked up later that night is better than risking your life or the life of others to drive yourself home. You can only be lucky so many times before you're suddenly not. Rolling the windows down or turning up the music is no way to sober up. The only way to make sure that you are sober enough to drive is by not drinking at all.
If you find that you are faced with a lot of drinking versus driving situations, then you need to take a really long and hard look at yourself and at the type of life that you are leading. What sorts of people are you hanging out with that they allow or encourage you and others to become inebriated? Are these really people that you want to call “friends”? Sometimes prevention is better than cure. You don't have to wait until you get your first DWI to have the 'wake up call' you needed to get your life in order. You are in charge of yourself as well as your destiny. Grab a hold of the reins now and do the right thing so that you don't live with regrets later.