Alcohol is involved in about 40% of all fatal car accidents. Anyone who has their driver's license or at least took driving school should know this, so why so many people still drinking and driving?
More high school teenagers than parents would suspect are drinking and then driving. It disgusts me to watch as my fellow high school seniors sit through a horrifying D.A.R.E. assembly, knowing that they are still going to go out and party...which means drinking and driving. Many people are under the impression that they are above the law. When they see a movie about someone who has died or been paralyzed as a result of an accident involving alcohol they think, "Yeah, that's sad; but it's just not going to happen to me." I feel that this attitude is not only obviously stupid, but very selfish. If someone is drinking and driving and they hit another car it is very likely that they could kill someone. Often times people who drink and drive don't die, but kill other people. When someone dies, whether it's a parent, offspring, sibling, friend, whatever, it can devastate the lives of their loved ones. I can't believe that people who drink and drive and selfish enough to actually not care that they might kill someone's mom or best friend just because they wanted to have fun at a party. As humans, we all make mistakes, but why make yours that you killed someone because of drinking and driving?
So what do I think we should do? (because obviously D.A.R.E. assemblies are not getting to all of the right people).
Lie.
I think we should lie to kids who others know drink and drive...
Tell them that one of their loved ones died; their mom, their little brother, their best friend, whoever. And tell them it was because of a drunk driver (possibly that the loved one was the drunk driver).
I know it sounds bad, but wouldn't it be better if someone momentarily thought that their loved one died, had a revelation about drinking and driving than if we did nothing and they actually killed someone?
Drinking and driving is not going to lessen unless people get a real slap in the face. And I think lying would be the best way to do it.
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Good use of statistics. I did not know that. That is a high percentage considering how many car accidents happen each day and knowing that not much less than half involve alcohol.
I also agree with you and find it ridiculous how much kids drink and drive and don't even give it a second thought.
That's an interesting idea. One of my past coworkers, who happened to be a mother, was bragging about "getting away" with drinking and driving because they convinced the officer who pulled them over that they were sober. I instantly proceded to chew her out. I told her the next person who "got away" could be the one that would her head on during her drive home from work and kill her infant daughter or doesn't see her parents checking their mail and kills them, then asked her what she would do if this person was bragging to her friends about "getting away". I also told her I had kids, and that I would happily leave my home at any hour of the night to pick up someone no matter how old they were in order to ensure that my children would not become a victim. One thing anyone with a license can do is to let your friends know that you can pick them up if they have been drinking or to go out as a designated driver. I tell all of my friends and relatives to please call me, and I will get up and drive to wherever and even bring someone to take their car home because I know it could be saving a life. If you're an adult reading this, let any underage drinkers that you know of trust that you can pick them up confidentially. One of the biggest reasons many teens drink and drive is because they do not want their parents to find out they are drinking. Of course you can throw in your disapproval of their drinking and discourage them to do so while you're at it, but know that by keeping confidence you could be saving a life.
F*** Religion. Read more here:
http://www.progressiveu.org/020528-f-religion
I think that telling people that you'll pick them up is a great idea. Especially since my idea is somewhat controversial.
hey laura, its emily. i made a name on this thingy so i could comment, lol.
idk, i just wanted to say that, although i agree with you about it being really important to get it across to kids that drinking and driving is dumb, i gotta admit, i was kinda offended by the idea of lying.
idk if you know this or not, but i was hit by a drunk driver over the summer when i was in a car with five other friends. i was in the hospital for a week but i was only the second worse. my boyfriend's best friend was in the hospital for a month. he had brain damage, he's permanently blind in one eye, and he has to take medicine to prevent seizures now. he was in a coma for a week and a half after the accident... and he could have died. the reason why i'm telling you this is because, for that week or so when we didn't know when he was going to wake up, it was always a possibility in the back of our minds that he straight up wasn't going to wake up at all. idk, i just don't think its right to lie about that kind of thing happening, even if it's to scare someone into being safe. i kind of feel like lying about it wouldn't be very respectful to those that actually have died because of some idiot drinking and driving.
ah well, i agree with you on everything else. forcing kids to watch movies about it will def. never reach them.