Sophomore accounting major
Everyone on this campus deserves a great time. Whether at a sporting event, a nice restaurant or a party with friends, we all have to find a way to relax and reward ourselves for the crazy weeks spent writing papers and cramming for tests. For many students, alcohol is just another aspect of fun. But while we’re having fun, we have to remember to make safe decisions. There is probably no place more important to make that safe decision than when deciding whether to drive.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 9,878 people died in drunk driving crashes in 2011. In this state, 162 people died in such crashes, marking one-third of all traffic fatalities in the state. These numbers are truly sad, for most of these deaths could have been avoided by simple good judgment. Nevertheless, nearly 25,000 people are arrested for DUIs each year, meaning tens of thousands of people are making stupid decisions that endanger lives.
So students, don’t drink and drive. Have someone sober drive you or take public transportation home. You want to wake up safe and sound. I am not saying drink less or have any less fun, but make plans while you’re sober to be safe while you’re drunk. Don’t forget that you could hurt or kill someone else after making that stupid decision. MADD reminds us that one-third of all people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime, so decrease that chance by being responsible. If you’re not drinking, or are drinking minimally so as to have good judgment, make sure your friends are doing the safe thing in terms of driving home. If you can, ensure they get back safely. Don’t let them get behind the wheel if they aren’t fit (legally or not) to drive.
I am all about individual freedom in society — if you’ve read most of my columns, you’ll know the government is my worst enemy — but when your actions endanger the well-being of others, society has to intervene.
The first way to prevent drunk driving is social pressure. By emphasizing how bad and stupid drunk driving is, we can work to prevent people from driving drunk. If it is not at all socially acceptable and people are aware of the tremendous risk it poses to themselves and others, drunk driving rates will decline. But this will not always be enough. Even if we become socially tougher on drunk drivers, there will always be thousands of people driving under the influence.
To truly curb drunk driving — which is on the decline already — we have to step up enforcement and punishment. In Maryland, police run drunk driver checkpoints, apprehending thousands each year. The state runs advertisements emphasizing enforcement of our .08 blood alcohol content laws.
But we need to be even tougher about drunk driving. The first step we could take is making the sentence of DUI homicide longer. According to MADD, the jail time for a DUI homicide in Maryland is only zero to five years, one of the shortest in the country. Being drunk is no excuse for making a stupid decision to kill someone. It is not first-degree murder, but it is an avoidable offense that deserves steep jail time as a deterrent and fair punishment. A second way to curb drunk driving would be a DUI blacklist of all the people convicted of a DUI in a given year. This would be open to public viewing, allowing neighbors and employers to see who has done what. (Maryland already does something similar with its Judiciary Case Search).
So instead of facing all these penalties, let’s just make good decisions. Even if it means going without the convenience of a car or planning a little bit ahead, we can make smarter, safer decisions for ourselves and others.
Return to the Opinion section’s discussion of drugs and alcohol on the campus.
