Mental Health and Impaired Driving

Drunk driving is a reckless and foolish act to do. Where I grew up, drunk driving wasn’t a large problem as there weren’t really any car crashes or incidents in my neighborhood. But that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t happen. I know plenty of my fellow peers that drink and drive, some even like doing it. Usually at parties that I’ve been to everybody has a designated driver, but sometimes even they get a bit tipsy. Although according to responsibility.com teenage drunk driving fatalities have declined by 81% since 1982, I think it’s still a big problem. Although rideshare apps such as Uber or Lyft are always available, sometimes they still go unused. Coupons for those programs wouldn’t even help because a cost of an Uber is around $10, and drunk drivers still choose not to use them.

A campaign that I would run to lower the impaired driving rate is to raise awareness for depression and anxiety and how it leads to alcoholism and drunk driving. According to pubmed.gov, “For persons with co-occurring depression and alcohol use disorders, depression treatment should be part of a strategy for treating alcohol use disorders which are highly related to drinking and driving.” Many people that have depression or bad anxiety choose to turn to drugs and alcohol to keep their mind off of their problems, instead of trying to get real help such as a therapist. I think this Is due to the fact that a lot of men are embarrassed or think they will be judged for getting help with mental health. This could be the reason why major depression is a small but statistically significant predictor of changes in alcohol impaired driving behaviors among men but not women. In conclusion, mental health awareness presentations would definitely help lower impaired-driving rates.