According to SAMHSA, “The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) reported that in 2019 during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, 210 lives were lost due to alcohol-impaired driving crashes.” This means 210 people didn’t make it home for the holidays with their families, and 210 families lost their loved ones and didn’t get to say goodbye. Imagine if you were one of those people, whether impaired and driving, dead, or having lost a loved one. According to the US Department of Transportation, “Every day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 39 minutes.” This doesn’t even account for increased impaired driving during the holidays. In 2021 alone, there were 13,384 deaths from drunk driving. One important thing to note here is that drunk driving encompasses driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs.
In 2020, SAMHSA concluded from a survey that over 26 million people drove impaired- impaired meaning they were under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. To make matters worse, they found that around 17 percent of this population were between 20 and 25. This shows that young people are most at risk for driving impaired. You can’t shorten the time it takes to get sober, and driving before this time is up is extremely dangerous. Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol impairs your coordination and slows your reaction time. These can both be crucial in the seconds leading up to a potentially fatal accident.
The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) limit is 0.08 (grams) in all states except for Utah, where the limit is 0.05 (grams). This means that in Illinois if you are driving with a BAC of 0.08 or higher, you are considered to be driving drunk. The reason this is the legal limit is because this is when your coordination and reaction time are impaired to a dangerous level. This does not, however, mean that you are not impaired if you have a BAC of 0.01-0.07. According to the US Department of Transportation, there were 2,266 people killed in 2021 alone when the person responsible had a BAC between 0.01 and 0.07. In the US, about 31% of traffic crash fatalities involve one or more drunk drivers.
It’s illegal to drive drunk or high, yet people do it anyway. If you get caught, the consequences are steep. According to the US Department of Transportation, the people who help set the laws on penalties for drunk driving, “Charges range from misdemeanors to felony offenses, and penalties for impaired driving can include driver’s license revocation, fines, and jail time. It’s also extremely expensive.” Some states require what is called an ignition interlock device for previous offenders. This is a device that requires the driver to blow into it and prove that their BAC is below a preset limit before the vehicle can be operated.
Choosing responsible behavior is always a great start, so here are 5 tips to help you out!
1. Have a designated driver. You don’t want to get caught out at a party or get together and then discover that you and all of your friends shouldn’t be driving because you’re all high or drunk. Choose one person that is responsible enough not to drink or use illicit substances throughout the entire get-together.
2. Don’t let anyone else drive drunk. If you know someone who has been drinking or using substances, take their car keys. Of course, don’t leave them stranded- help them organize a ride home with a driver who is sober and safe to drive.
3. Don’t drive drunk. It’s simple: if you’ve been drinking or using substances, don’t get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Let a friend or family member drive you, call a taxi or an Uber, or stay where you are until you become sober again.
4. If you’re hosting, make sure nobody leaves and drives drunk. One way to do this could be to require guests to turn in all car keys and only hand them back to somebody sober.
5. Wear a seat belt. For starters, it’s the law. But not only that, it’s the best defense anybody has against impaired drivers on the road.
