photo credit: Lincoln Hake
“It’s only one drink,” he said to himself. “What’s the worst that could happen?” A few minutes after that, the worst thing that could’ve happened, happened.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is an activity that affects all people in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), 37 people die every single day in the United States from a crash caused by a drunk driver. That would account for one death every 39 minutes.
As well as this, the most recent statistics show that in 2021, there were a total of 13,384 deaths due to a drunk driver, which was a 14 percent increase from 2020, according to the NHTSA.
In Ohio, in order to be charged with a DUI, blood alcohol levels must be over .08 percent, according to Columbus Criminal Attorney. And for those underage, this threshold is even lower.
“I just arrived at the party so I only had a couple of drinks, and my friend was super plastered. When kids started fighting and someone called the police, I wasn’t feeling the full effects of the alcohol and decided to get me and my friend out before it got worse,” an anonymous Instagram poll respondent said.
It is many decisions, similar to this, that end up killing many people. And it is important to keep in mind that drunk driving isn’t just dangerous to the driver, it’s a danger to everyone else on the road. While the majority of deaths from drunk driving are to the driver themselves, an estimated 40 percent of all deaths are those who aren’t under the influence, according to the CDC.
This epidemic causes more than death as well; many people have been left with irreversible scars that affect them every single day.
“As soon as I got to the top of the hill, I saw headlights coming right at me in my lane. I managed to avoid a head-on collision, but she hit my front fender and kept digging in until our wheels hooked and both ripped off,” Amy Gordon, the admin of the Victims of Drunk Driving Facebook page said. “It sent me into a spin that seemed to last forever.”
Many people on the Facebook page shared many similar stories to Gordon. Whether its themselves or their loved ones getting injured, or getting killed, these drunk drivers seem to have a never-ending impact on their life.
“Three years later, I go less than a mile from where I work on my lunch break. I always think of the chance that I get hit by drunk drivers again on my lunch break and that I won’t return to work,” Victims of Drunk Driving member Katie Castleton said. Castleton got hit by a drunk driver in January 2020 and now lives with a traumatic brain injury, as well as losing her tricep muscle.
One thing very common in these accidents is the fact that the drivers are repeat offenders. According to Graham Donath Law, around one-third of all incidents in the United States start from repeat offenders.
“My life changed in so many ways because one person, a repeat offender, decided to be selfish,” Castleton said. “He was heading to get more liquor at 1 p.m. on a Friday, when he shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.”
But looking to the future, the United States is looking to prevent many more incidents like this. Government action looks to start a new method of prevention, starting in 2024.
President Joseph Biden’s infrastructure bill of 2021 contains a provision, which calls for all new models of cars to be equipped with sensors that will monitor and detect if the driver is impaired. This detection can prevent the driver from even starting the car, according to Mother Jones.
So next time you put down that drink, remember those who have been affected by drunk drivers, but also those who will if you get in front of the wheel.
“Put your keys away! You have the right to have a good tie, but you don’t have the right to ruin someone’s life at the end of the night,” Gordon said.
