Letter to the Editor – Tri-City Herald – Published October 2, 2016
We can help prevent drunken driving
By: Aubrey Scott ’19 & Evelyn Mayorquin ’20
Would you like to be responsible for someone else’s death because of your own reckless behavior? According to a study by the National Highway Safety Administration, more than 10,000 people were killed in drunken driving accidents in 2015. That is approximately one person dying every hour in these accidents.
When you drink alcohol, your reaction time will slow down, you’re less coordinated, your vision is impaired, and it’s harder to think clearly. When you’re on drugs, your vision, brain, thoughts, and what you hear change, causing you to become a hazard. Now imagine someone under the influence of these toxic substances on our streets, putting our lives and their life in danger.
If we all work together as a community, we can help prevent some of these accidents. Some of the things you could do as an individual are have a designated driver, try to limit alcohol use, and help prevent people from driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
To prevent someone from driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you can suggest they sleep over, call them a taxi, or if you need to, call law enforcement, because getting a ticket is worth saving a life.