Drunk driving and your driving safety

As we all know accidents can, and do happen. But there are certain things that can increase the likelihood of you having an accident. One of these is alcohol, if you drink and drive then you are far more likely to be involved in some form of traffic accidents, and a bad accident at that.

Millions of people do not pay attention to the laws and drive drunk anyway, as a result over a million people die each year due to drunk driving. The local and state police do a good job at stopping millions of drunk drivers each year, but there are simply too many.  And on top of it many of these drunk drivers are repeat offenders and come from wealthy families that are big in politics, car dealerships and/or NASCAR racing and their high dollar lawyers get the drunk driving charge dropped or reduced. 

It’s all part of the modern lifestyle to party all night long until the early hours of the morning, if these people drive after a long night of drinking then they’re not only putting themselves at risk but also others. Not to mention if you drink a lot of alcohol then some could remain in your system the next day when you drive to work. Although the alcohol will start leaving your system there may still be enough to impair your judgement.

Some youngsters combine alcohol with drugs, this is not only illegal but it is even worse than just drinking alcohol – it actually multiplies the effect and could even kill you.  It doesn’t matter if it is illegal drugs or prescription drugs, mixing them with alcohol is a deadly combination and the worst result may not be death, but that you live in a permanent vegetative state or become a quadriplegic.  Even if you don’t take drugs there is still the possibility that your drink will be spiked – especially at night clubs and bars (that’s why its always a good idea to take some friends along or have a buddy system in place). If you feel strange, tired, or on a high then you should not get into your car. Ask your friend to drive you back, or leave your car locked and walk home (hopefully you will remember where it is!).  Call a cab if you have to – you’ll be sorry if you don’t.

Traffic police have a weapon against drunk driving its called the  breathalyzer. I don’t know if you’ve ever been made to use one, but basically you breathe into the device and it analyses the alcohol percentage in your lungs which determines very accurately  whether or not you are drunk. Of course the police may just ask you to walk in a straight line if you look drunk!  If you refuse the breathalyzer than you will be taken to jail and booked on drunk driving charges – unless your last name is Kennedy and you are a state senator or similar, then of course you get a ride home.  But for the rest of us, we get arrested and charged with DUI.