Pay for the Uber instead of Your Life

It’s 2021 and my mom has just announced to the family that she is pregnant- but we’re still in lockdown. Being the only child living with her at the time, I felt the burden on my shoulders of having to get my license even sooner because my pregnant mom can not risk getting infected stepping out the house. I felt the incoming responsibilities of having to do the errands, the grocery pick ups, and driving Miss Daisy. I knew it was safer for me to drive than my mom at the time. I knew getting my license had meant I had to face my biggest fear; intoxicated drivers.

Ever since I was a kid it was very normal to me to have my dad and uncles drive drunk after family parties. No one seemed to tell them no and I was too young at the time to acknowledge what was happening. One day in 6th grade we talked about substance use and when it came to alcohol I was in complete shock to hear that we shouldn’t drive drunk. I was so confused because I trust my family but I was just taught in school that drunk driving is dangerous. As I tried to call out my dad’s side of the family on their reckless driving, my Papa told me, “do you not trust your own family member? Would I put you in danger?”. I was too young to know what manipulation was at the time, but I was aware enough to know that alcohol impaired your brain and driving drunk wasn’t safe- my dad’s family didn’t care.

When it came to learning how to drive, my driving instructor at the time gave me words of comfort when we were driving. When expressing my fear of drunk drivers and me dying on the road, she told me that the best thing I can do is drive cautiously and stay aware of danger. If there’s someone swerving on the road I was taught to drive on the opposite lanes from them and to let them speed up. I was taught to see the bumper of the car in front of me because if a drunk driver hit me from behind I at least wouldn’t endanger the car in front of me. I asked her how do I avoid getting in a car with a drunk driver when they’re my only ride home. She said two things: prepare if there will be alcohol at the event and pre plan your ride home. The second thing was the beauty of our day and age; there’s always uber and lyft. My instructor was right, I would rather pay for an uber than pay for my life.

I’m grateful for El Camino High School in South San Francisco for always putting a drunk driver scenario around prom season; Every 15 Minutes. In 2012 my older sister was a freshman at EL Camino and she heard the news that two seniors were sadly killed for driving drunk after prom- their memories will forever be in her school yearbook. Since then, my high school had Every 15 minutes do a real life scenario using our own classmates in the drunk driving scene. I knew of it beforehand and understood it was fake because of my older siblings talking about Every 15 minutes around the time of their prom season. But when it was my junior year and I saw the impact it had on my classmates to see their friends “die” and how traumatized they were, I knew I wasn’t the only one who took intoxicated driving seriously. I saw how upset my classmates were and how they mourned from a fake scenario- but what if it was real?

By the time I started drinking and partying I made it loud and clear that I will not go in any car with an intoxicated driver. Let it be alcohol, weed or other substances, if you’re not sober I’m not going in your vehicle. I do not make it a debate when it comes to my friends lives and my safety. I can only prevent the people around me from driving drunk and can try to educate them to the best of my knowledge on why they shouldn’t drive drunk- I can’t control them but I can educate them. In my public health class there’s this saying; Prevention is easier than Treatment. I want to prevent them from getting injured compared to treating their injury.

As a 22 year old I live by the words of my driving instructor who told me to drive cautiously and stay aware of danger. As a caregiver to my elderly grandparents, I notice I’m extra cautious because their lives are in my hands. When I drive my younger family members, including my newborn baby sister who I adore so much, I do not drive in the express lane and stay within reasonable distance from drivers. I let no one on my dad’s side drive me or my siblings if they are intoxicated- they are well aware I am always upset when they drive intoxicated, but they know I will never put me or my siblings in the car with them. The beauty of having my license now is that I don’t have to call uber if I decide to stay sober for an event. But if I do decide to get drunk, I would rather pay for the uber than pay for my life.