Drunk Driving Essay, Research Paper

Drinking and Driving Don?t Mix

It is amazing the affect one beer can have on a person. Especially when they have to take on the responsibility of trying to drive home, maybe sometimes with passengers. I have heard unfortunate stories ranging from getting fined, D.U.I. School, and also a close friend?s death. All of which could have been prevented if they just would have made a better decision.

Jazmani Meneses was always a good kid when it came to making decisions. Until that one day he found himself behind the wheel, with a little bit too much to drink, and with his best friend, Marcos and two young ladies. They had just left a party and everyone wanted to go home except for Jazmani, he was hungry and wanted to eat Taco Bell. When everyone refused he decided to drop his friends off at home and go by himself. After eating, he had a long drive to his father?s house that lived near Cutler Ridge. Regrettably, Jazmani fell asleep behind the wheel in route to his dad?s house and collided into oncoming traffic while traveling south on the Florida Turnpike. He died almost instantly at the scene of the accident. After hearing this news I was absolutely astounded. I could not believe that the same guy I would see walking through the halls every day at school was now dead. I always thought that it would never happen to me but sadly enough, it did. It took me a while to get over this, and even though Jaz and me were not that close, it was painful to imagine what his family and close friends had to go through.

Another friend of mine, Nicholas who is twenty-seven years old, also was involved in a car accident. His brand new Mercedes SL500, which did not even have insurance yet, was a total loss. Luckily he survived with only minor bumps and bruises from the crash, but was forced to pay fines exceeding $2,000, complete fourteen weeks of counseling, attend D.U.I classes four times a week, and was placed on probation for six months from consuming any alcoholic beverages. In addition to those things, he also had to fulfill 100 hours of community service work. Let?s say Nicholas got stopped on the streets and was driving under the influence again, he would be sent directly to jail. Nicholas could have really hurt some one and possibly have killed some body and then be later convicted for manslaughter. His entire life would be down the drain all because he wanted to have a couple of drinks at a party amongst his friends, look like he was a part of the cool bunch and socialize a little better.

Statistics these days are amazing just in America. About three in five Americans will be affected by an alcohol related crash at some time in their lives. An average of eight young people a day, die in alcohol linked crashes and it is likely that one out of every 280 babies born today will die in an accident involving an intoxicated driver. There are many organizations designed to inform and try to stop the drinking and driving trend such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Boaters Against Drunk Driving, the American Medical Association and many more. These programs are aimed at attacking binge drinking and the use of alcohol by U.S. youth. Some of the projects include: ?A Matter of Degree: The National Effort to Reduce High Risk Drinking Among College Students? and a program called ?Reducing Underage Drinking Through Coalitions.? The

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goal of the underage drinking project is to reduce alcohol use among minors and similar problems through diverse coalitions that address environmental factors that contribute to the consumption of alcohol. The goal for the college project is the same; only it focuses on binge drinking on college campuses.

Through my experiences and gain of knowledge I strongly feel that people should most definitely drink and drive. Instead take the responsible approach and either call a cab or call a friend or relative to pick you up. Never get behind the wheel when you know that you can barely even walk straight. Not only will you be saving your own life but you will also be saving others. Do not become another statistic.