A Safer, Cheaper Alternative

La Plata County has the 6th highest rate of DUI case filings of Colorado judicial districts (Reed & Rosenthal, 2022). Attending Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado comes with the startling fact that you face such a high prevalence of impaired driving on the roads. In 2019, of the 26,139 DUI case filings in Colorado, nearly 26% of cases were filed against 18 – 25-year-olds, the average age range of college students (Reed & Rosenthal, 2022). Colorado’s Department of Transportation reported a 14% increase in fatalities from alcohol-impaired driving crashes from 2019 to 2020 (CDOT, 2022). Risking your life and the lives of those around you in the name of convenience is selfish. The behavior is exacerbated by improper education surrounding the reality of drunk driving. Most people assume that since they have been able to successfully drive impaired before that the next time will be the same, as the average drunk driver has driven drunk more than 80 times before they are first arrested (FBI, 2014). Widening our periphery and examining this trend from a nationwide perspective, in 2021 alone, 13,384 people died as a direct result of drunk driving (NHTSA, 2021). That’s nearly a third of all car crash fatalities in 2021 (NHTSA, 2022). More effective education about drunk driving will save tens of thousands of lives annually. As citizens of a nation who honor “liberty and justice for all”, we must change the statistics and reduce the number of deaths related to impaired driving.

These shocking statistics highlight the importance of driver education and the significant work of organizations like Durango’s Hive, and The Coalition on Responsible Driving. Both these local organizations are working against the pandemic of impaired driving in my college town by offering donation-based ride-share services such as The Buzz Bus in addition to education and training for service workers in restaurants and bars around town. Offering alternative transportation isn’t enough to address the problem, steps must be taken to make individuals aware of the selfishness that perpetuates drunk driving. However, effective education is precarious and must be done without emphasizing drunk driving’s pervasiveness as studies in social psychology show that sharing such statistics often has the opposite effect on behavior. In the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, when signage publicized something akin to: “People are taking the petrified wood and destroying this national park”, people were more likely to steal pieces of the monument. This behavior was only changed when signs read similar to; “Most people leave the park as it is, leaving without taking anything but memories and photos” (Cialdini, Demaine, Sagarin, Barrett, Rhoads, Winter, 2006). The case of the Petrified Forest National Park highlights social influence theory, the psychological theory claiming that people abide by the perceived acceptable behavior demonstrated by their peers. In the case of drunk driving, it won’t be enough to share the harrowing statistics of deaths per year from driving while impaired. Steps must be taken to educate people, particularly those of the average college attendance age, that many of their peers refrain from engaging in drunk driving, and in turn, they will too.

I was raised with an acute awareness of drunk driving’s effects as my grandfather has multiple DUIs in the State of New Mexico, one of which my Mother was present for his arrest. Her harrowing tale of being in the backseat of the car as she watched her Dad get arrested was recounted multiple times throughout my childhood and instilled a deep fear of impaired driving before I could imagine getting behind the wheel at all. The marks on his record had made it difficult for him to find steady jobs before he reached retirement age and permanently affected his relationship with his daughter. The lost job and respect don’t begin to cover the fines which average approximately $4,100 across the US. Assuming one doesn’t lose their job as a result of the DUI, the fines, increase in insurance, and court-mandated classes add up quickly. Taking a cab is a much cheaper, and safer, alternative to driving yourself home after a night out.

For those without the same familial experience as myself, I believe that organizations offering safe, and accessible alternatives to drunk driving make the largest difference in the community to change behavior, especially of college students. Many students opt to drive rather than call a taxi or rideshare service because of the cost. College students are notoriously low on cash, and poor education combined with the improper infrastructure to offer safe, affordable rides, it is unsurprising that the DUI rate is so high amongst 18-26-year-olds. I am sober and always offer to be the designated driver for my friends when we go out dancing, but that is less than half the battle. In my car, we can assume that we are safe when it is just us on the road, but any additional drivers increase our possibility of a fatal crash tenfold. This wouldn’t be the case if there were more ride-share services like those offered by the Hive that runs on donations, as those who don’t have a sober ride would opt for the cheapest option of getting home. Even when intoxicated, money talks and people listen.

Work Cited:

Cialdini, R.B.; Demaine, L.J.; Sagarin, B.J.; Barrett, D.W.; Rhoads, K.; Winter, P.L. 2006. Managing social norms for persuasive impact. Social Influence, 1(1), 3-15.

CDOT. “Memorial Day Dui Enforcement Comes on Heels of Increased Deaths on Colorado Roads.” Memorial Day DUI Enforcement Comes on Heels of Increased Deaths on Colorado Roads, 26 May 2022, www.codot.gov/news/2022/may/memorial-day-dui-enforcement-increased-deaths.

“How Alcohol Affects Driving Ability.” Drunk Driving, 2021, www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.

Media, NHTSA. “Newly Released Estimates Show Traffic Fatalities Reached a 16-Year High in 2021.” NHTSA, 17 May 2022, www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/early-estimate-2021-traffic-fatalities.

“Drunk Driving.” NHTSA, 2021, www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.

Rosenthal, Allison, and Jack K. Reed. “Driving under the Influence of Alcohol and Drugs 2021 Report.” Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol A Report Pursuant to C.R.S. 24-33.5-520, Jan. 2022, www.codot.gov/safety/impaired-driving/documents/2021-dui_hb17-1315.pdf.

“Table 29.” 2014 Crime in the United States, 4 Aug. 2015, ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-29.