Unknown Consequences of Drunk Driving
Drunk Driving
When we set ourselves behind the wheel and set out on a trip, we take the responsibility for others along. Death remains the most recognizable consequence of driving drunk, but the drunk driver may not have been the cause of the accident. When a driver drives drunk, we leave our responsibility for others behind and it means more than others accepting the consequences of our own actions do. In addition, we affect our loved ones who wonder, and worry.
Death
When a death occurs because of an accident, the drunk driver committed a vehicular homicide. The death of the person in the accident remains with the drunk driver no matter what the cause of the accident. If we knowingly get behind the wheel, we arrogantly think we can control the car when we most likely could not walk easily towards the vehicle.
Our gross motor skills diminish with only one drink and further decrease with each drink in an hour. The shortest distance between two places is a straight line. What are the chances that you can travel in a straight line from one place to another so the only motor skill you would need is to apply a small amount of pressure on the gas pedal? It is very unlikely. A drunk driver willingly thinks they can drive a car with turns and curves, but cannot walk a straight line. The field sobriety test includes walking the straight line. The poor person who drove stepped into the path of the drunk. Could their have been another means by which we neglect our fellow man when we drive drunk?
Driver assisting Driver
The task of driving a car sometimes makes us make innocent errors. We depend on each other to drive defensively. The AARP runs a positive defensive called 55 Alive Defensive Driving Class. We all take a responsibility for each other when we get behind the wheel of a car. If we get behind the wheel of a car under the influence, we forgo this responsibility as well. A drunk driver may be the victim of the driving actions of a sober person, but the drunk remains guilty since we must sit behind the wheel with all senses intact. We need to be prepared to help each other. We move through this world with responsibility to others and when we drive drunk, we worry others.
Loved Ones Stress
We give the people at home a stress that affects their life when we drive drunk. An alcoholic's family knows that their family member might get behind the wheel. The family members might have willingly picked them up on occasion, When ever the alcoholic family member leaves with their car and does not return when expected, the family worries they are driving and wondering what about their condition. The drunk driver places the family into a perceived guilt if an accident occurs. The guilt is false but emotions frequently fail to reflect reality. A law enforcement officer might claim they aided an abetted drunk driving because they knew the possibility could exist.
When a driver drives drunk he risks others, worries others, and fails to accept basic human responsibility. Limit time behind the wheel to moments of complete attention to the task.
