A huge problem in the world today is people drinking and driving. When someone is under the influence of alcohol they really don’t know the right choices from the wrong ones. More times then not those people make the wrong choice to get behind the wheel of a car. Just because someone is drunk doesn’t mean its an automatic thing that they will crash but it does increase the chances by quite a bit. No matter what age you are, a new licensed driver being 16 to an elderly man being 80, this is always going to be bad and frowned upon by anyone. Drunk driving is one of the main causes of death in the United States.
Around 33,000 people died in traffic crashes in 2009 in the United States including an estimated 10,839 people who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Drunk driving fatalities accounted for 32% of all traffic deaths last year. That means on average someone is killed in an alcohol related driving crash about every 50 minutes in the United States. These numbers show how common it is for someone who has been drinking to get behind the wheel of a car. Also it greatly shows the consequences of doing such an act.
Many people have to live with themselves knowing they killed one of there passengers while they were drunk. Its known that a lot of the time the drunk driver will not die because the effects of the alcohol. It loosens the muscles and keeps the person very calm making that person not die. Don’t get me wrong, they do die sometimes but I just cant imagine having to live with myself knowing I killed someone because I made a horrible decision to drink and drive. This could lead up to people ruining there lives in remorse and it could possibly even lead up to that drunk driver committing suicide.
There is a lot of ways for someone to avoid drunk driving. There’s many different things you could do then get behind a wheel of a car when you are completely drunk and can barely walk, nevermind drive a car. If you are planning on drinking with a group of friends you should always pick a designated driver. This helps because that person will be sober for that night and will be able to drive all the drunks to where they need to be. This saves lives numerous amounts of times. Another way you can avoid drunk driving is if you don’t have a designated driver then you can call a taxi. They will always get you to where you need to be but with a charge. Money shouldn’t matter though when lives are on the line.
Yearly the amount of driving-impaired causalities has decreased. This is a good thing but we should try as a country to really stop this from occurring at all. Most deaths from alcohol occur in the time frame of 12A.M to 3A.M. These times show that people are probably leaving a bar or a party at this time and decide to drive. Well that’s the wrong choice. Life is all about choices and you need to make sure you make the right ones. Being drunk doesn’t make that to easy but you need to really try to make sure your doing to right thing, especially when you are under the influence.