It was difficult to report news this week that a young woman who died in a single-car accident last winter was driving under the influence when she crashed along Vashon Highway. The woman was just 22, and she was well-loved on the island. The last thing the paper wants is to stir grief over this tragic incident. However, this young person’s death is also indicative of a larger and ongoing problem in our society, a problem we can all work to combat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, every day almost 30 people in the United States die in car accidents involving an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 51 minutes. In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving accidents, accounting for nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S.
Despite the dangers, many of us know people who have driven under the influence of alcohol, or perhaps we’ve driven impaired ourselves. It doesn’t take large amounts of alcohol to impair driving. For a 160-pound man, just four beers over the course of an hour can produce a blood alcohol level of .08, the legal limit for driving. A smaller person is impaired after fewer drinks. Those who drive under the influence aren’t necessarily ignorant or careless. Smart, educated people drive drunk. It only takes one bad decision, a brief moment of recklessness to lead to injury or death.
A person who drives under the influence is certainly responsible for his or her actions. But those the driver is drinking with, at a home or at a bar, play a role as well. Taking away keys can be unpleasant at the time, but a driver might thank you later. Friends and family who drink together should create a climate where they watch out for one another, assuring that all have a plan for safe transportation.
Bars and restaurants also have responsibility. Serving a visibly drunk customer is against the law for good reason, and regular training around this is just as important as the training around checking IDs that the Vashon Alliance to Reduce Substance Abuse (VARSA) has recently promoted. VARSA is making a commendable effort to reduce teen drinking and drug use on Vashon. But volunteers can’t be as close as parents are, and conversations around driving under the influence and its consequences should be common in every household.
An incident such as a drunk driving death is a painful reminder of something we already know, that one poor choice can have lasting consequences. Next time you’re drinking or are with others who are, consider the role we all can play in saving a life.
