Christmas time can be an overload of the senses in many ways, with the music everywhere, food of every kind, the laughter of friends and family sharing good times together, and celebrating the season with work colleagues.
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the celebrations as one gathers with good friends to imbibe in the treats and the drinks, and if alcohol is involved, that can lead to bad consequences for a lot of people if someone isn’t careful.
Part of the reason is the environment of going out to enjoy the company of good friends. The ads, the advice from police and the statistics on drinking and driving have been put out there time and time again.
Everyone knows that it’s a bad idea to get behind the wheel after having drinks, but when it comes down to it, and it’s late, it’s cold out, you’re tired but you feel okay to drive (after all, you can still walk, right?), it’s pretty easy to shrug off the nagging feeling that you should call someone or let someone else drive you home.
You turn the ignition on, and you set off for home … only you hit a patch of ice, and your reactions are off and next thing you know, there’s a crunch of metal and glass and you black out. Waking up in a hospital room, with monitors beeping and a mask over your face, and you wonder what on earth happened. Eventually, you learn your car was smashed, and that two people were killed in the other car that you hit.
This scenario has happened before, and the sad thing is, it will happen again.
The fact that in every police report that comes out every week, there are people being charged with impaired driving, or there are reports of drunk or high drivers being involved in fatalities, means the message is still not really penetrating into the minds and consciences of some people.
The effects of alcohol, or other drugs, can’t be blamed when people know what happens when you go over the line and get blasted because everyone you’re with is doing the same thing.
Each person is responsible for what he or she does, and each person should know that even a few drinks (or a toke or two) can impair your judgment and your reactions. This is why the statistics of those killed and injured in motor vehicle accidents always note that an inordinately high percentage are due to alcohol or drugs in the systems of the drivers.
Think of it this way: each driver and passenger of every vehicle out there has a life and hopes and dreams, and people who love them and care for them. Is it worth taking all of that away for the sake of having drinks and good times with friends and family? Before you get behind the wheel, think about the friends and family of those people … and do the right thing.
