Four days, six collisions, six deaths, and one province. Out of the six fatalities, five of them were alcohol related. That's five people whose families will never see a loved one again; five people who didn't have to die that weekend.
And for what? Because there are idiots in this world who were arrogant enough to believe they were "fine" to drive home. Obviously, they weren't.
Let me warn you-- this isn't going to be some sugary sweet message telling everyone to NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. We all know that. We all know the dangers of driving while intoxicated and we all know the potential consequences. The fatalities of this last long weekend show that people just don't care. So this isn't a plea to the public; this is a reality check.
When you go out to a bar or to someone's house, your first thought should be, "I'm driving home tonight, so I have to be careful." Since that isn't usually the first thought, the second one should be, "At the very least, I won't get so hammered I can't walk straight."
Don't for one second think I'm saying that anything less than blindingly drunk means you're okay to drive; but alcohol of that amount will take until the next day to leave your system whereas one or two drinks might just take a few hours. Get it? If you have even one glass of wine (250ml, in case you're trying to cheat with a yard glass), you should be waiting at least three hours before you pick up your car keys.
The ignorance of people is believing that just because you can see straight, walk straight, and not slur your words, you're safe to drive. Wrong. When you're an "impaired" driver, you're not hindered by pink elephants on the road; you're impaired because your reflexes aren't as sharp. When you go to make that left turn at a streetlight, it becomes more difficult to gauge the timing of oncoming traffic and that's how collisions happen. When you're traveling down a dimly lit road, it's that much harder to react to a teenager wearing a dark hoodie who walks out onto the road from between cars.
This ignorance is also the direct cause of people's arrogance. People feel stupidly confident after a dose of liquid courage and so think they're capable of anything. I've heard people say, "I've done it plenty of times before and I was fine." Well those drunk drivers from the long weekend probably thought the same thing and now there are five families grieving in anguish because of someone else's stupid arrogance.
I'm not asking you to feel compassion or empathy for them. In this desensitized age, nobody cares what happens to people they don't know. So instead, I'm appealing to your selfishness. Before you start the ignition, think to yourself that as soon as you pull out of the parking lot, there's a cop waiting right around the corner. If it's late at night, there's a good chance that officer will pull you over just for the heck of it.
Don't get me wrong; I understand the temptation. When we go out for a casual night out with friends, it sometimes doesn't even cross our minds the risks we're taking. What everyone needs to realize is that it's not just a risk staggering drunk people take behind the wheel. It's the woman who just wanted to relax with a glass of wine and some friends. It's the teenager who only wanted a night to chill with a friend and a couple beers before going home to study. It can happen to anyone and all it takes is one little mistake, one too many seconds to react because your reflexes are impaired. You can sleep off a hangover, but you can't sleep off the death of an innocent person.
So here's my helpful advice: DON'T. If you're planning to go anywhere near alcohol when you step outside your door, don't drive. If it's too late for that and you're already there, don't start the car. If even that's too late, call a damn friend. Call a cab. Hell, knock on someone's door and ask them to drive you. Worst comes to worst, walk home. I don't care, just don't make anyone else suffer because you stupidly thought you were "fine."
MJ
