Every 30 minutes someone is killed in a drunk driving accident. Considering the frequency of these accidents, a cab full of SMU students-and the underage drunk driver who crashed into them early Sunday morning-are very lucky to be alive.
Don’t drink and drive. It’s a pretty simple concept: If you’ve been drinking alcoholic beverages, do not drive. Make sure there’s a designated driver. Call a cab or utilize the free and anonymous SMU Rides program. Just don’t sit behind a steering wheel.
Heeding this lesson constantly taught by parents, teachers, peers, driver’s education instructors and the online alcohol education program new SMU students are required to complete, the students involved in Sunday’s accident on the corner of McFarlin and Hillcrest called a cab after a night of partying. Yet, they still were not safe because many people are too dimwitted to get the point: Don’t drink and drive.
Some might perceive the irony of this accident and conclude that all precautions are futile. However, there is another, more striking message to be gleaned from the circumstances, something not as simple and requiring a bit more effort than following the “don’t drink and drive” slogan.
Alcohol has pervaded our society to the point that none of us are safe. Whether you drink, don’t drink, choose to take a cab or drive a car, there’s always going to be that too-likely possibility of being affected by a drunk driving accident. But if we all stop being so apathetic for a moment and consciously decide to combat this ever-increasing problem, we can lower that probability. It’s not enough to just not drink and drive.
There is so much more we can do. We must take responsibility not just for ourselves, but for our friends and even for strangers. If you see someone staggering to his or her car, don’t shake your head and sigh, “dumb drunk driver,” and walk away. Instead, walk up to that person. Suggest he or she call a friend, using your cell phone if necessary. Offer to call a cab and even pay for one if you have to. If you can’t do anything to stop someone, or you think your safety may be threatened in doing so, call the police.
Don’t think it’s your responsibility to make sure others aren’t making bad decisions? Think it requires too much effort? Well, we think a quick comment to a drunk friend or even a whole Friday night dedicated to volunteering for SMU Rides are small sacrifices to make in order to save a life. The sooner we all start working to stop drunk driving, the sooner we can all get back to having truly relaxing nights when we don’t have to worry about an intoxicated person crashing into and killing us.
