DUI: It’s not worth the trouble
The long-term detriments of a DUI arrest are just not worth it.
SARAH BLACK
I know, I know, another “conscience coming at you” opinion piece. But let’s be real guys, death isn’t funny (Unless he’s in Monty Python’s “Meaning of Life”), and early onset death is tragic.
On average one person is killed in an alcohol-related accident every 50 minutes in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, it was found that teenage boys driving with blood alcohol levels ranging from 0.05 percent to 0.10 percent are about 20 times more likely to get into a car crash than sober teenage boys, according to the Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney blog.
The math has been done for you, but let me lay it out.
Being over 21, I know how tough it is to want to go out with the girls and “have a good time,” as they say. It’ll be Friday and after 80-plus hours of work and school combined, I just want to let loose a little bit.
But of course I don’t have the funds for a taxi, and none of my friends drive. Where does that leave me? At home on a Friday night watching “Tangled” and sipping a Guinness.
Yeah, not so glamorous.
However, after those hours I work every week, I’ve learned something—it’s not worth the risk. If I were to go out and have a few, wait an hour and drive home, what could happen on the road is a mystery. I could be fine, or, I could end up smashing into the side of a Cadillac Escalade and kill every passenger in my car. I could get pulled over for weaving and have a DUI on my record. I could run a motorcyclist off the road, and a whole number of other options.
What it comes down to is that I value the lives of others and my own, and that takes priority over “having a good time.”
So my suggestion is to be smart. Drinking and driving may at times be convenient, but it isn’t safe under any circumstance, and the risks truly outweigh the benefits.
KYLIE CORBETT
“Naive” is the word that comes to my mind when I imagine a world where underage drinking does not occur in today’s society.
All of us have been lectured to not drink by friends, family, the education system, and all of the above at one point or another, am I right? Let me tell you right away that you should keep reading because I’m not here to tell you to stop drinking.
At 19 years old, I have never put myself in a harmful environment involving alcohol. Although my mom is happy about this, she still believes that it’s a little strange that I have never tried alcohol with my peers, or been pressured to do so while growing up. To not drink alcohol before the legal age of 21 has been my choice.
Now you may be thinking that because I have never tried alcohol, means that I am no longer a credible source. I haven’t been blinded from the obvious negative consequences of alcohol consumption on those around me as a result.
While most of us are aware of the dangerous consequences of driving under the influence, we choose to ignore the numbers each year. More than 1,700 college students are killed each year in the U.S., according to The Marin Institute.
If people want alcohol, they will find a way to get it, whether it’s from friends, family, or a random stranger that is asked outside of a liquor store in the parking lot.
According to Students Against Destructive Decisions, among underage drinkers (ages 12-20), 30.8 percent paid for the alcohol the last time they drank – including 8.3 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 22.3 percent who gave money to someone else to purchase it.
Anything is worth it until someone catches you, some may argue, but I prefer to not put myself in that kind of situation in the first place.
Approximately 50 people a day die due to alcohol-related traffic crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. People who drive under the influence put their lives, the lives of their passengers, and the lives of innocent bystanders on the streets at risk.