Before we dive into the intense stuff, here's One Direction being the most adorable humans on earth.

Things that are OKAY to do while driving a moving vehicle: sing with James Corden, eat (responsively), keep your eyes on the road, etc.

Things that are NOT okay to do while driving a moving vehicle: DRINK alcohol, text, smoke illegal things, etc.

Okay, now I know a large percentage of the people who read this article think that "Oh, I would NEVER do that!" which is GREAT. However, there's a small percentage of the population (High School/College Students, I'm talking to you!) that either have done this and said "I didn't die" or "I had control of myself the whole time" OR the ones who don't think that it's a big deal because of their circumstances or their alcohol tolerance. I have continuously heard "I can drink about 8 beers before I start to feel it" or the "It was late out, so it didn't matter". Um, yes. It does matter.

I'd love to hear those excuses after you're the one crashing into someone that I love because YOU chose to drink and drive that night. Did you know that according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration),10,000 people die from a drunk driving crash ANNUALLY? Every day, on average, 29 people die from drunk driving related incidents. Also, did you know that 1,233 children 14 and under were killed in 2016 due to drunk-driving crashes? That's a lot.

Besides the overwhelmingly terrifying statistics, do you even know what alcohol does to your brain? Sure, it makes sure you have a "good time", but it also it slows down your reaction times, changes your thinking, and messes with your coordination. Even with a BAC (Blood alcohol concentration) of .02, you still "Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target)[and] decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention)" (nhtsa.gov). The BAC that can get you in major trouble is .08, but that doesn't mean that you should push your limits because by the time you're at .08 your:

"Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing), [it,s] harder to detect danger; [your] judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired"

Would you let a 5-year-old drive a car? Of course not! With alcohol in your system, you might as well be a child. I like to think of drunk people as little children, hobbling about and bumping into things/ people. However, drinking in a safe environment with ZERO intentions of getting behind the wheel is totally fine!

How can you avoid drinking and driving?

Please, remember that when you choose to drink and drive, you're not only putting your life at risk- you're putting someone else's too. It's 2018, let's party responsibly.