We have all been there. The lights on the bar come up. You realize your friends have left, and more importantly, your ride. You need to be up in the morning; you need to get home and rest. Now, you have to decide. Stumble to your car and carefully navigate the few miles to your home, or call a cab or even a friend?
In reality this should not even be a decision. Getting into a car with a drunk driver or your drunken self behind the wheel should be abhorrent to anyone and everyone. Yet it happens every day and night. Why? We have all seen the videos and heard the tragic stories of families ripped apart by one poor decision, yet we still drive drunk. Even with ever increasing legal ramification, we hop behind that wheel with zero hesitation. Humans want instant gratification, and driving home is the most efficient route every time. You have to wait for no one, its extremely cost efficient, and you will be home in a jiffy. But what if you aren't? What if this time you don't make it. Or worse, you prevent someone else from making it home safe because you couldn't be hindered by waiting six minutes for an Uber.
The ubiquity of Uber and other ride sharing apps, combined with classic taxis, makes such a decision borderline insane. Why don't we take a cab both to and from the bars? The cost is clearly offset by the potential cost in life, legal trouble, and morality issues. But humans are short sighted creatures, and traffic collisions are not that common, and DWIs even less so. Should we increase policing? Lower the legal limit? These measures might work, but I think a more effective measure would be to create a social mindset that is so against the idea of drunk driving that it is simply no longer considered an option. What if strangers felt confident and comfortable about questioning your decision to drive? If your friends harshly ostracized you for considering getting behind the wheel after too many drinks. People around you must feel empowered by society to stop you from driving while under the influence. We all must look out for each other, both directly and indirectly. What if you stopping a stranger from drinking and driving saves a family members life? The attitude must be that just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't, rather it means it will happen.
The implementation of such a societal sea change would be tremendously difficult. But it would certainly be worth every life saved. People need to see the inherent dangers and actively work against such a destructive decision. Policing needs to be rigorous and make examples of those who break the law. Personally, I would like to see a professional athlete bear the full force of the law and face conviction, a true conviction, for drunk driving. Then, with that person as the public face of the issue, then maybe the issue will be taken seriously and change will be within reach.
