It seems like every day when we turn on the news we always hear about a horrible car accident that involved someone driving under the influence. Driving under the influence is one of the largest reasons why there is so many car accidents in the United States and because of this laws have become harsher even for those first time offenders. Millions of people have become affected by driving under the influence, whether it has been their family member or friend who has been drinking or doing drugs and then climbing behind the wheel or it has been their family member or friend who has been injured or killed because of the intoxicated driver.
Even though many drivers who partake in a small amount of alcohol consumption or recreational, yet illegal drug use might feel that they are only driving a short distance and have the mentality that no harm can come to them they tend to forget that their actions could not only affect them but also many other people. We have to remember that driving under the influence is incredibly unsafe, it is very illegal.
When we look at statistics, most driving under the influence will happen with the age group older than 21 years of age. In 2010, young people between the ages of 21 to 25 (23. 4 %) where the largest group that where involved with driving under the influence. Shockingly, an estimated 5. 8% of 16 or 17- year- olds also reported driving under the influence of alcohol (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011). In 2010, there were over 1.
41 million drivers that were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010) and at least about one- third of all those arrested for driving under the influence are repeat offenders (National department of Transportation, 1995). When people are going out and they know that they will become under the influence of any intoxicating substance the best idea is to have a plan among their friends to help relieve the pressure of having to drive under the influence.
Assigning a trusted designated driver among your friends can keep things not only safe for you, but also for your friends and for those sharing the road with you. I’m sure that we have all dealt with an irrational intoxicated person who has believed that they are perfectly capable of operating a vehicle even though they can’t even walk a straight a line and that is when you as the clear minded and unimpaired person have to remain logical and think ahead when dealing with the intoxicated individual.
If by chance, you are ever in the position where you and a friend are involved in a situation with an intoxicated person who wants to drive, you have to remember that once all those drinks or drugs have been absorbed in their body they are harder to reason with. The intoxicated personal might be confrontational and not fully understand how impaired they are. When reasoning with them, you should remind them that you, yourself can personally get in trouble for not trying to stop them from getting behind the wheel because they are intoxicated.
You should also remind them that if they get a DUI then they could lose their drivers license and could be stranded or have to rely on others for transportation. The last thing you might want to remind them is that driving under the influence is illegal and that it could result in prison or jail even for those first time offenders. It’s a great accomplishment if you are able to talk your friend out of driving under the influence. It would mean that they understand what you were explaining and accepted the idea that so many things could go horribly wrong with them behind the wheel while intoxicated.