Driving Drunk

I read a Facebook message today about a 33 year old man who was killed by a drunk driver and it just makes me sick. People become incapacitated every day by alcohol or drugs and then selfishly get behind the wheel of their cars, not caring one bit that they might kill some innocent person.

I did that once. Years ago I had taken my own car down to the boat club where my husband already was and we partied with friends. I can get drunk on 1 or 2 drinks but somehow I let myself drink until I was pretty drunk. My husband and I had an argument and I got in the car, knowing I shouldn't but just wanting to get home, and stupidly/selfishly/criminally drove there.

I remember trying to be very careful but a drunk is a hazard no matter how careful they are. I was filled with guilt about what I was doing but kept going anyway. My vision was straight ahead only because I couldn't see peripherally...this must be a result of drunkenness. Can you imagine driving down the street with no peripheral vision? Insanity.

I did make it home with no accidents but that was just by chance. Knowing how utterly stupid I'd been, I swore on my grandchildren's lives that I'd never do such a thing again and I didn't. The memory will always haunt me, though, because I feel I'm much smarter than that and I do have a strong conscience. I could so easily have killed some innocent person that night and the thought makes me physically ill.

When it became the fashion for friends to select a designated driver, I thought how wonderful that was. It's just too bad that everyone who drinks and drives doesn't have a concern for others. It might help if drunk driving penalties were stricter...lose your car and spend at least 6 months in jail, regardless of whether or not it's the first offence. Some people will only play by the rules if the penalty for ignoring them is a serious one.

It's too late for the 33 year old man who had his whole life ahead of him and family and friends whose hearts are broken. A man who chose to drive drunk is still alive and kicking, probably using a public defender to try to convince the court that he had a bad childhood and shouldn't have to pay for his crime. Life isn't always fair, is it?