Advisory: some of my blog notes make it sound like certain people are evil or were solely motivated by malicious negligence. No one could be that evil all the time, not even in a movie. The written word doesn’t accurately capture the mood or specifics – it does, however, capture my terrible writing style and at least the basic idea of the meanness I’m describing.
The other day, I heard someone casually mention to another person that they were shocked that their niece admitted that her mom, the speaker’s sister, had driven her home drunk the weekend before. Like so many, I’m sure she had initially claimed to be planning to angrily confront the sister, call the police, etc. As you might guess, this never happens. The alcoholic is let off the hook in order to avoid a confrontation. Alcoholics are the worst people in the world to point out their shortcomings to. YOU will be the offender if you even lovingly try to bring light to the subject.
I know we are in the modern age, the 21st century. However, I think most people are blissfully unaware of just how common drinking and driving is. Certainly, patrol efforts and alcohol education may have made it less likely. Trust me when I say, however, that drinking and driving is as pervasive as Mountain Dew.
I won’t digress into the topic of how profitable the DWI industry is or how much money and jobs are tied up with the subject.
If we aren’t going to require breath monitors in every vehicle, then if you are pulled over and have an alcohol content above the legal limit, I have another suggestion. Let’s call a second technician to the scene. He or she will then do a breath test AND take a sample of your blood. If you fail the breath test a second time on the scene, you shouldn’t be arrested. No, you should be arrested and taken immediately to a rehabilitation and detention center for 3 months. You will not only be required to do rehab, but you will also be required to work during your tenure. (the blood test is for confirmation.) There will be no appeal of the rehab. No court appeals, no attorneys, etc. If you choose to get into a motor vehicle after drinking and are caught, you will suffer the same fate as anyone else caught. There will be no preferential treatment, concern about your job, etc. You will have to admit your error and be help publicly accountable for what you have done – no matter who you are. Your name and picture will be published in the papers, on the news, and on the internet. Everyone can and should be able to see it. Only then will the stigma of DWI become great enough to convince people to stop doing it.
We like to get in our metal boxes and drive, content to believe that most drivers don’t want to risk their own lives or their families lives by drinking and driving. Yet everyone has a friend or family member who was killed by drinking and driving, either as the guilty party or the victim. Isn’t this a little statistically ignorant to believe then that drinkers are behaving responsibly?
My dad was driving drunk when he crashed in 1970. It killed another member of my family. He had multiple DWIs, crashes and near misses, several of which included me as an occupant at the time. Statistically, I should have been maimed or killed on several occasions. He failed to learn his lesson. The same is true for my mom and so many other family members, too.
I’ve always said over and over that everyone deserves a free learning pass for drinking – as long as no one was injured. It takes a tough lesson to get through to us. It’s the way we are wired. But after your one reminder to not do it again, all bets are off and you should be held to the fire for not learning your lesson.
With as much alcohol consumed in the United States, all I’m asking is for you to take note of how many people you know drink and drive. Don’t be confrontational about it, at least for a while. Just observe. Note how many cars are at clubs, bars, liquor stores. Do the math and then ask yourself not why so many people are killed every year by drinking and driving; rather, ask yourself why there aren’t MORE killed.
Finally, ask yourself why we put up with it. If each of us absolutely refused to let our friends and loved ones drive even after 1 drink, the problem would eventually solve itself. If our family members get angry, tell them to come find us when they grow up. We are all enablers if we aren’t calling the police every single time we witness it.
P.S. Parenthetically Speaking 