Choose Sobriety

Every day, lives are destroyed by one simple but deadly decision: drinking and driving. Drunk driving is not an accident. It is not a mistake. It is a decision which can be avoided, and one which has horrific consequences.

All these years of campaigns for awareness, stringent laws, and gut-wrenching news headlines, and still people take the risk. The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) quotes that nearly one-third of all North American traffic-related fatalities are the result of a driver being alcohol-impaired. That is not a statistic; that is someone's kid, sibling, mother or father, or friend who did not come back home.

What is so tragic about drunk driving is how easy it is to avoid. With rideshare, designated drivers, and public buses, there is simply no excuse to get behind the wheel after having one too many. And yet, each weekend, emergency rooms are packed with victims of drunk driving. Families wait anxiously for phone calls they should never have to make.

It is easy to think, "It won't happen to me." Alcohol, however, incapacitates judgment before it impairs coordination. The driver who thinks they are "fine to drive" may be completely unaware of how drunk they actually are. Too late, however, by the time they realize.

Impaired driving affects not just the driver but also everyone on the road, including pedestrians, motorcyclists, and innocent drivers who are just going about their business, endangering them. The domino effect of one bad choice can stick with someone forever.

As a society, we need to break the habit of regarding impaired driving as a lesser offense. It is a serious crime with real victims. The public shame of drunk driving has to be as strong as the law. One should not let friends drive drunk because it is a good marketing slogan, but because it saves lives.

We need to say something too. If you see someone planning to drive under the influence, do something. Offer to give them a ride, call a cab, or take their keys away. You will be embarrassed in the moment, but you could be saving someone's life or theirs.

It's time we stop asking, "How can we prevent drunk driving?" and start accepting that we already know. It begins with responsibility, with courage, and with an oath to hold life more valuable than convenience or pride. Drunk driving ends when individuals choose to make better decisions before ever putting the car into gear.