The other night my friends and I
went out to celebrate one of our friend’s 22nd birthdays. While we
had a great time, the end of the night was not the fun finale we were hoping or
expecting it would be. We got a phone call from someone we all knew and were
friends with to tell us that another friend of ours had to be taken to the
hospital for possible alcohol poisoning. It was not only worrying for us to
wait and find out what was going to happen and if this person would be okay,
but also to have such a prominent reality in our society hit so close to home
for all of us. Alcohol poisoning is more common than people think, and
thankfully our friends knew something was wrong and took the initiative to take
them to get checked out.
But then while we stood outside the
restaurant, as if to add a dash irony to our on-going situation, two cars
screeched out of the parking lot, with arms flailing out of the windows and
drivers swerving slightly as they speed off. The questionable behavior of
people I did not even know worried me and I was so glad, if not just for my own
personal safety and the safety of my friends, to be walking back home, instead of being on the road with them. I was
hoping that for the late hour, there would not be many people on the roads and
therefore would not be subject to, what it looked like to me, at least, drunk driving.
These two instances in one night
were very upsetting to me: maybe it was the terrible accident last semester
that took a fellow FSU student’s life, or just the realization of the sheer
irresponsibility of people, but it worries me how some people still do not
learn how dangerous the effects of alcohol can be. Thankfully my friend was
alright, but I know of so many cases where things have not ended as well. As
for the anonymous drivers, I will never know how they ended up. I just hope that it does not take another
death for people to learn that with drinking comes responsibility, and while
you may just be trying to “have fun”, it should not impede anyone’s safety.
I'm glad to hear that your friend is well. Unfortunately people over-drinking is an incredibly common event. While I cannot speak for everyone I think it's pretty safe to assume the majority of people have had at least ONE experience where they drank too much. Fortunately for your friend the people who were with him spotted the symptoms and took action by taking him to the hospital. So there is some possitive you can take out of this in that your other friends are smart & aware enough to get their friends help when they need it. The combination of immaturity(not insulting your friend) and peer pressure are two major contributing factors that do nothing to help the problem. Hopefully our friend and those around him/her learned something from what happened.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Realistically, all college students drink at one point or another, and a fraction of them do decide to get behind the wheel once or twice. It's frustrating and completely irresponsible that people are so selfish and put others' lives at risk. However, I've pondered over and over about what anyone can really do about it. People get pulled over by the police, get a DUI, and sometimes choose to do it again. I heard a while ago that for repeat drunk drivers, it was going to be mandated by the court that they must have a breathalyzer inserted into their vehicle. Before they started the car, they would have to blow into it to ensure that they were not under the influence. Eventually, drunk driving will probably turn into such an epidemic that every car will be built that way. I can't really complain because I think that it would benefit everyone's safety.
ReplyDeleteIn the past 30 years, drunk driving has fallen by more than 50%. So I fail to see why you think this trend will reverse itself to such an extent that every car will have an interlock. This would be a major privacy invasion on those of us who drive responsibly.
DeleteIt's far more likely that the technological advance will be when true automobiles (self-driving, that is) hit the roads...