I’m Just a Call Away

Every year I see in the news far too often somebody, or somebody’s family has been affected by a drunk or impaired driver on the road driving when they should not have been and it leads towards a potentially fatal accident. As a highschool student my freshman and sophomore year the idea of having to worry about drunk drivers never really crossed my mind since I did not have my license, and none of my friends did either. But once I turned 17 and many of my friends did as well, the reality of how dangerous the road can be if not treated with respect kicked in quickly as one of my classmates was involved in a fairly serious accident not even a month after obtaining his license.

Ever since that event I’ve made it my priority to ensure that I not only hold myself to a high standard when driving, but I hold my friends accountable as well because they pose just as much a threat towards other drivers as I do as well if they are not driving responsibly. Particularly if they went out to a party on the weekend and are attempting to drive back home before the 11 o’clock curfew under the influence making a 15 minute drive 10 minutes long. I myself have never really been big on partying and never really got involved with the culture, but unfortunately many of my friends are and many of them tend to make ill informed decisions potentially putting others at risk. That is why I’ve proudly adopted the phrase “I’m just a call away” because I much rather go out of my way on a Saturday night and provide a safe ride home for my friends than checking the newspaper the next day and finding out something potentially horrible happened.

That leads me towards why I am writing this essay, because I cannot represent every teenager in the United States — yet I can only hope more people like me (parents included) would create a safe and warm environment with their teenage kids to know that they really are “just a call away” because teen’s are going to party regardless. But what we can change is destigmatize talking about it so less kids hit the road while under the influence, and they themselves can get home safely while simultaneously protecting others on the road as well.

This stigmatization of teenage culture begins with having real conversations at younger ages before teenagers are eligible to drive, both in the classroom and at home. Encouraging teens to disengage in behavior that is inevitable would not be helping anyone and we will continue to see this cycle of young drivers dying behind the wheel. I believe based on personal experience both as a teenager and interacting with other teens on a day to day basis having adult conversations would be far more effective. The topic of conversation is simple, ensure that young teens understand that if they were ever put in a difficult situation to just call a sober friend or trusted adult/guardian to drive them home helping save countless lives in the future.

The concepts addressed in the paragraph above don’t just apply to highschool scenarios as well because accidents due to drivers under the influence span across all age brackets. For both college students and adults it is important that they understand just as highschoolers need to understand the risk/reward for driving while under the influence is just not worth it. All parties involved would be better off if you were to call a trusted friend, or since they have stable incomes at that point in their life just order an uber to get home. By doing so they both protect themselves from harming others on the road alongside with themselves, and help prevent a lifetime of resentment and regret for the victims’ families.

In conclusion, regardless of what your age is, and what point in life you’re at. It is invaluable to understand that you’re never on your own and having a good night out with friends is a totally normal part of life. Drinking is not the problem, it is driving while under the influence that single handedly leads to 28 percent of fatal car crashes in the US each year according to data from the NHTSA. So if you were to take one thing away from my general message in this essay it is this: “you are just a call away” from saving a life by keeping yourself, and others on the road safe as well.