The impacts of drunk driving came to my attention when I was only four years old. I still remember the night when my mom’s best friend from high school, Katie, passed away in a tragic accident. Although Katie was not driving, the man behind the wheel was intoxicated and was responsible for a fatal car accident. At the time, I was too young to understand how long lasting this event would be, but I remember the devastation my mom and Katie’s family felt. The incident left my mom wondering why this beautiful person's life was cut short, and not a day goes by where my mom doesn’t think of her and wishes she could go back in time to prevent the accident.
There is no easy solution to eliminating drunk driving, but it is 100% preventable, and it is extremely important to be a safe and educated driver so that more deaths do not occur. I think that the government should be doing more to educate people of all ages and to start new programs and laws that will reduce driving under the influence. Teenagers may be aware of the dangers of driving drunk, but at times are not educated enough, or have not seen the tragedies themselves.
Teenagers are young and fearless as they have not experienced enough of the world yet, and at times think that nothing bad can happen to them. Sometimes even young adults and older people can feel this way too if they have driven under the influence and nothing bad had happened. This does not mean though that it will always go positively for them in the future, and there need to be more education, laws and programs that are watching out for this irresponsible behavior.
There are many reasons that teenagers drink and drive, and to start peer pressure is a big reason. Being young at times does not always allow you to have the most confidence in your decisions, and there can be feelings of insecurities in not always having lived thru different situations. Peer pressure will make them feel like they need to do something to “fit in.” Drinking impairs good judgment and alters the way the brain and body functions. It can make you feel fun, happy and worry free and bad decisions can be made because of this. When too much is consumed, teenagers lose control of their bodies, functions, and thoughts and sometimes actions.
Teenagers know that when drinking it is illegal if you are under 21, and when they are presented with a tough situation of not being able to drive themselves home, they often will not call their parents for a ride. They may not want to get into trouble with their parents and would not want to call anyone else to tell them that they have been drinking when it is against the law. Often, they are in a position of not having anyone to call to give them a ride, or to help them make the best decision for themselves.
Some students are under a lot of pressure at home to do well in school, compete in sports, and “do it all” and sometimes kids will rebel by drinking. Many kids are struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses that also contribute to dangerous actions with alcohol. Sometimes they try and use different substances including drinking to heal this mental anguish. Some may also have physical pain, or injuries which leads them down the dangerous path of using alcohol to heal their pain. What they don’t always realize is that alcohol can make the anxiety and depression worse and does not help with the stress or physical pain they may have. Addiction can start, and driving when under the influence is more likely.
The Department of Education needs to assist more with programming in schools to give education on drinking as well as for drunk driving and the dangers. Education on how to lookout for friends and family to prevent them from driving drunk should be shared as well, and how to make good decisions regardless of peer pressure and lack of decision-making skills while drinking. The energy and passion of dedicated individuals in groups such as MADD should have their content spread across the U.S. schools in health classes, and there should be more active groups on college campuses educating people on drinking and driving. Mental health programs need to be widely accessible for young kids and even young adults to try and help with addiction and using alcohol to alleviate pain. New laws should make driving under the influence have more serious consequences, and the government should use tax funding to implement safe ride programs across the country.
Technology should be used more to provide solutions, such as the government working with automakers to link a breathalyzer with the unlock key function to a car. Cameras and motion sensors should be manufactured and set up on roads to detect cars that are swaying and crossing lines while driving and sent automatically to law enforcement who are dedicated to patrolling for driving under the influence. Any establishment serving alcohol should be required legally to have a system of checking ID’s and calculating how many drinks a person is allowed to have on a technological device to assure they are not overserved.
I hope that at Ole Miss I can help the community take a step in the right direction to prevent incidents regarding drunk driving by preventing friends and others from driving under the influence. The despair that a family feels when losing a loved one is heart wrenching. Katie was a person of integrity and morals and was a very talented nurse who helped people every day. Unfortunately, the community has lost a good soul who made a big difference in other people’s lives. We should not have to lose any more of these good people on earth and hopefully more will continue to be done to prevent these tragedies in the future.