Distracted Driving, Destroyed Lives

My grandfather is one of the most important people in my life. Even though I have a bias, I think you can’t get cooler than my PB. Even at his age, he is a total California surfer dude, drives motorcycles, has eaten at the same 4 restaurants for the last 20 years, and has the best laugh that can only be described as his chosen laughter over oxygen. But the really special thing about my PB was that he worked to build his own business from the ground up without a college degree. He owns CU Auto in Phoenix, Arizona, and for as long as I can remember, cars have been a pinpoint of my PB’s personality. His car dealership is somewhere I have spent a lot of time as a kid, and it seems that every time I see him, he has a shiny new car that he drives me to donuts in every morning. His love for cars is a constant, not just a personality trait; it is a fact. Something so solid I thought nothing could dampen it. However, with an expensive hobby like car collecting came a certain care for the vehicles he owned. There is no one single person more careful driving than PB, but even if you’re careful, it’s not guaranteed everyone else is. No matter how many precautions you take or how long you’ve been driving, you can’t avoid other people making stupid and rash decisions while they drive. What isn’t ok is when a stupid, quick, no-thought decision causes other people pain or, in the worst cases, their lives.

People driving intoxicated isn’t something to be taken lightly. It is hands down one of the most selfish things a person can do. When you prioritize getting home on time after having alcohol, you’re not the only person who suffers the consequences. You decide the moment you get behind the wheel that your need to get somewhere easily is more important than people’s lives. It goes further than that though; not only are you hurting the people in the immediate proximity to your vehicle, but you are also responsible for the little girl like me getting sat down and telling me that my role model and grandfather were in a car wreck. I didn’t know what happened or if the other person was even ok. All that mattered was that my PB was hurt, and it was because of a decision someone else made. The whole incident could have been avoided with common sense, but what happened couldn’t be changed. A drunk driver hit his car, and it almost cost my family irreplaceable memories with PB, not only that but his life. He ended up being okay but no longer finds the same joy in driving. We no longer go to get doughnuts in the morning. His joy isn’t all there because someone was overconfident in themselves and made a stupid decision. Things like this don’t cross your mind until it’s too late, but driving drunk is something done too casually now to not take action.

Alcohol at its base is a drug, a drug with psychological effects that no matter how little you’ve had, the effects are still there. She physically couldn’t avoid her distraction and decided that getting somewhere was more important than everything else. The psychological effects of alcohol on the brain are slowed neural processing, memory disruption, and reduced self-awareness. Couple that with the stress of driving, and you start to wonder why it ever seemed like a good idea to drink and drive.

Drunk driving affects everyone involved. When the need for a quick ride overrules better judgment, people almost always get hurt. However, now that we not only have drunk drivers behind the wheel, there is a new rise in danger. The danger of the phone distraction. People are not paying attention because of the radio or looking at text messages. In some circumstances, this is equally as dangerous, if not more so.

The dangers of drunk driving create a risk on the road. When judgment is impaired by alcohol, the risk of accidents escalates, often resulting in irreversible consequences for both drivers and others. Distractions from phones (whether through radio adjustments or text messages) further lack attention and slow reaction times, making it clear that the threat extends beyond alcohol consumption alone. Ultimately, addressing both issues with equal urgency is essential for fostering safer roads and protecting lives.