It’s 2 a.m. and you’re leaving a party with some of your friends. You’ve had more than a few drinks but you’re convinced that you are perfectly fine to drive. You have also managed to convince everyone else that you're sober enough to drive (whether they believe you or just need a ride home, who knows).
Everyone in your car is relying on you; everyone on the road is relying on you. You are being trusted with more lives than just your own, and people often forget to consider that when they get behind the wheel intoxicated. Everyone thinks this law is in place to stop your fun, but it’s not. You may think I'm writing this letter to you to stop your fun, but I'm not. The law to prevent drinking and driving is in place to save lives; to protect the safety of everyone on the road, and you need to be reminded of that.
We worry when family members are on the road and we worry when friends are on the road. We live in a selfish generation that isn’t concerned with the consequences of their actions. For this reason, we worry. We worry because our loved ones could be gone in an instant, and someone else could be responsible. Someone else can be the reason that your mom can’t be at your graduation; someone else could be the reason that your dad can’t be at your wedding someday. But what you’re forgetting is that you could be the reason for the same thing. You, the driver who thinks they’re “sober enough,” could ruin someone’s life. Don’t think you’re special; don’t think it can’t happen to you.
You may think you’re fine; you have only had a few. But you don’t notice the car is swerving down the road, you don’t realize just how fast you’re going. You may not think this is you when you drink and drive, but it is. Maybe you’ve done it before and made it home safely, so you don’t think you’re a risk. You think you’re under control. What happens when someone stops short in front of you? What happens if people are out walking in the middle of the road late at night and you don’t see them? What if? You may be under control for now, but with delayed motor skills and reaction times due to drinking, things will be out of your control before you know it.
You may think you’re more than responsible, that you know your own limits. Maybe you do, but some people sure don’t. Some people don’t realize that any amount of alcohol can make all the difference between a night out and your last night out.
I hope you know what you’re risking. Not only your life but someone else’s life. There may be a funeral next week because of you. One less place setting at a dinner table every night because of you. Hearts will be broken and loved ones lost because of you. Memories will be tainted by the absence of those taken from us too soon. There will be too many moments in life where happiness is interrupted by the constant reminder that something, someone, is missing.
The next time you get behind the wheel intoxicated, you should think about the consequences for yourself and for others. Lives shouldn’t have to be broken apart or taken away all for selfish reasons that didn’t include a sober driver.
