Meaningless Murder

Imagine this. You’ve had a rough week, but your friends invite you to go out to party and have a good time. You drink, have a few laughs, and then decide to head home. You might have had more drinks then you should have, but your house is just down the street, it’s no big deal. Stumbling to your car, you start to get in but a friend calls out to you, asking if they can drive you home or an uber. You politely decline and get in, start your engine, and drive away. You don’t even notice the red car pull out in front of you.

I personally have never had an experience with drunk driving incidents thankfully, but it’s still a problem I feel for. I could never imagine the pain of killing someone because I made a mistake, or losing a loved one. Death is hard no matter what, but I feel it’s even more devastating when it could have been avoided. According to NHTSA, in 2022 there were 13,524 killed because of crashes that could have been prevented. Over a ten year period from 2013-2022, about 11,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes. Everyone of those people were loved by someone, every one of those 11,000 mattered and had dreams and goals. All of that was taken away because of simple mistakes. There are so many ways to avoid pointless crashes and deaths.

One way is education. My parents didn’t have to do much to get their licenses, and while they’re both good drivers now, they really should not have been driving back then. Experience and teaching can help new drivers learn good habits, defensive driving, and feel more confident behind the wheel. My father has been teaching me how to drive, and he honestly is one of the best drivers I know. He taught me to “Drive for other people,” which means to account for others’ lack of accountability to protect myse;f and others. For instance, I live in a town where there’s lots of sharp curves and turns on the road, and he taught me to stick to the side farthest away from oncoming traffic. People sometimes ride the yellow line and get into the opposite lane, so by sticking to the white, I can avoid head on collisions.

Modern times have brought safer cars, new technology, and Uber. A ride system may not seem that significant, but in towns where taxis are not available, people drive drunk. With Uber, you can have a ride, and not put yourself or others in harm’s way. I know there are other problems with these apps, but I do think they’re incredibly convenient, and do help lower DWI incidents.

While I, as previously stated, have never been in a car crash, many family members have. My mother was running back in college, she was on the track team. While out running, she and a friend crossed the street and were hit. They survived thankfully and have both recovered, but it was still quite traumatic. My grandmother and mom were also in an accident when my mom was just a teenager. My grandma never talks about it, but from what my mom has told me, they were turning across the opposite traffic to turn into a parking lot across the street. This road is on a massive hill, a drunk driver sped down the hill and hit them on the side of their car. My mom still hesitates to turn there, and everytime she does I see her grip the steering wheel and take a deep breath. My grandmother struggles to this day with health problems, forty years after the accident. The impact from the accident shattered her teeth and gave her severe jaw injuries, she had to pay thousands into surgeries and therapies to get her body back to normal. When the accident first happened, she couldn’t even open her mouth, it was stuck shut. A friend of mine has also been in an accident, though this wasn’t carelessness or anyone’s fault, it was still a close call. They were driving, and our town has an insane deer population, they’re everywhere, and you have to be extra careful not to hit them at night. While she was driving, it was like the deer vaporized into existence. It shattered the windshield and if they had been a little more to the left, the antler would have impaled them. It’s a scary, scary world, and anything could happen at any time, any place, and I’m so thankful no one died in any of these accidents.

These stories are why I’m such a cautious driver. I could never hurt someone. I don’t know if I could handle blood being on my hands, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I’m going to try to make sure not only I’m a safe driver, but my friends and family are as well.