Hi,

You don't know me, you don't know anyone else on the road, but you risk their lives. Every sip you take of alcohol and the longer you are on the road, you become more of a danger to yourself and every single person around you. Do you realize that it is dangerous to drive drunk or do all the statistics and personal accounts mean nothing to you? Parents, friends, and survivors talk about drunk driving accidents they have witnessed or known someone in, and they ask the same question I ask: Why?

Why did you choose to drive intoxicated? Why did you not call a cab or an Uber? Was there no one around to stop you? Did you not realize how intoxicated you were? Why did you have to drive then, could you not wait until you were completely sober?

I bet you don't have a good answer to any of those questions. I bet you thought you would be okay. I bet you thought you could have a few drinks and still drive just fine. I bet you couldn't explain yourself to someone's parent, sibling, child, or friend when asked why you drove drunk and hurt their loved one. How would you feel? How would you feel to find out that your friend of family member is seriously injured because someone else made a poor decision? It's not just a snap-judgment decision; you drank enough to become intoxicated to the point of impairment. But I will answer those questions for you; there is no excuse.There is not an excuse on earth that could justify your actions. You chose to drink, and you opted to drive. There are no excuses, and surely I do not feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for the people who were driving sober, obeying the law, and just trying to get to their next destination safely. Do you know what it feels like to lose a friend or a family member because of someone else's mistake? Why would you choose to do things that would make someone feel like that? How do you live with yourself?

I ask all these questions because I want to make sense of it. It is such a simple decision to make, if you drink, you don't drive. If you drive, you don't drink, simple as that. "In 2015, 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes" (CDC). That number is just from the United States, alone. It baffles me that there are still people out there that chose to do this. Many questions fill my head, and I know none of them can be answered, but it would be nice if it stopped. It would be nice not to feel anxious while driving because you don't know if someone else has been drinking and is driving right next to you.

It's the law, oh so simple, don't drink and drive. But yet, you continue to do it. One day I hope you learn, for the sake of us all.

Sincerely,

A sober driver