By Gabriela Caminero, Staff Writer
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost every 90 seconds, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash. Drunk driving has begun to become a bigger issue amongst teens. Even though there has been stricter laws, more law enforcement and more education to the public about DUI, people seem to not be getting the message, especially the younger population.
More and more teens are getting behind the wheel while intoxicated, but in reality they are all leading to a disaster. These actions often lead to serious injury to the driver, the passengers in the vehicle, and/ or an innocent by stander. Usually these actions lead to an arrest or even worst, death. “I have seen a lot of very bad things, and just bad things result from DUI’s. Anytime I have witnessed it, it has always lead to an arrest. Drunk driving can cause someone to lose their job and it affects many people not just yourself. What people don’t realize is that when you commit this act, you are playing around with your life and somebody else’s. I don’t believe that drinking should not be allowed; however, I do believe that drinking should be done responsibly as long as it confides with the law. If you do decide to drink, find a designated driver. I love the students here at Saint Leo and I would hate for anyone to get hurt due to this. Basically, nothing good comes out of drinking and driving, just don’t do it.” Stated Sergeant D’ Ambrosio.
What I have come to realize is that when kids are in their party mode and they decided to act upon this reckless decision they don’t think about how this could affect another person, and the people they are going to leave behind. Nobody ever thinks about how their parents are going to react when a police officer has to knock on their front door and inform them of their son or daughters untimely death because of a careless act. These kids are young, attending high school or college and because of one night all those opportunities that have been offered to them goes away in an instant. This is a situation that is completely unavoidable. “Just by keeping those thoughts in my head, it always convinces me not to get behind the wheel while I have had anything to drink.” States Genaro Ramirez, a student at Saint Leo.
There are serious consequences involving these actions. For anybody who is under 21, the State of Florida has zero tolerance for drivers under 21. This means that anyone who is under 21 with a blood alcohol level of .02 or higher will automatically have their driver’s license suspended for 6 months, and that’s just to start with. Anyone who is over 21 and has a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher will receive up to $500 dollars in fines, up to 50 hours of community service, probation, imprisonment, DUI school and will have their license revolted. Keep in mind all these consequences are only for your first time offense. Not only that but this could result in your car getting impounded and even a dramatic rise in their car insurance policy.
Actually killing someone due to drinking and driving has even worst consequences. In the State of Florida, if someone were to kill another human being due to the fact that they were drinking and driving, they will receive a jail sentence for up to 15 years. Usually, if a young adult gets locked up for that long, when their time is up they are going to be adults with barley any skills that are useful enough to be a productive citizen in this society.
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, INC. (NCADD), as a person starts to drink they begin to feel loss of judgment relation and altered moods which leads to impaired judgment and the ability to perform multiple tasks at a time. As more alcohol is consumed slower eye movements start to occur and reaction time and information process starts to become delayed. The result of this is reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering and reduced response to emergency driving situations. At this point people when people keep drinking then get to the point of poor muscle coordination, danger and judgment is harder to detect, and reasoning and memory are impaired. It is hard to believe that even after feeling all these symptoms due to drinking people still believe that they are well enough to drive.
Many people believe that when they are drunk that exercise, coffee, or a cold shower would get rid of the alcohol in their body but in reality only time could get you sober. If you are drunk and you have to get home, call a friend a neighbor, or even a parent (even though you won’t hear the end of it from them). Sleep in your car if that is your last result. This might sound a bit ridiculous; however, I believe that that choice is a lot better than risking to ruin your life or somebody else’s. The most popular theory behind drinking is when people have a few drinks they think they are fine to drive. Just one drink could impair you’re driving enough to cause an accident and in reality not everybody knows when they have had that one too many that could cause them to get in a wreck.
Drinking and driving is one of the most destructive, most preventable acts that is done in the United States. It has cost many people money, jail time, and even their lives. The result to killing someone due to drinking and driving is almost like a death sentence to that person because they have to live the rest of their lives knowing that they took somebodies life away, and the serious jail time that they are going to receive. Next time someone decides to drink and drive, they should stop and think, “Is it worth it.”
