DUI - Some Thoughts on Driving Under Influence

We are lead to believe the driving under influence or for short DUI is a trivial offense. We see hollywood starlets Lindsey Lohan who pose for mug shots after adjusting their make-up and rock star bad boys who use it to nurture their image but the truth couldn't be any farther.

The reality is that drinking or taking drugs is a personal decision, probably the most stupid one a person could take but none the less a personal decision. In present times everybody knows, at least to some degree, that doing drugs and drinking is bad for them, so they consciously decide to do it anyhow, but when you sit down behind the wheel you are forcing your decision upon others. You are making a decision to risk the lives of those who share the streets with you and you are not entitled to do this.

I know that most people reading this will be thinking: Oh come on, I am great driver, when I am drunk. In my opinion you are not, but maybe you are. But let me ask you one question: Are you better driver when you are drunk or when you are sober? Wouldn't you react that fracture of a second faster if you hadn't had that last drink? What if that fraction of a second makes the difference between crashing and not crashing? 

Since the human nature is mostly driven by egoism let me turn the point of view of this around: Do you really want to burden yourself with the feeling of guilt? Do you want to live wondering: What if I hadn't been driving under influence? Could I have prevented the accident that hurt or killed someone else? You will never know but the truth is, that that doubt will be more punishment than any fine or jail. 

Also try thinking about how many people you know and I believe that each one of them knows at least one person who was injured or killed in a car accident involving driving under influence. Too many people get hurt just because people think: I still can drive. 

In my case it was my uncle. A drunk driver drove onto the freeway the wrong way and crashed into my uncle's car in a frontal collision. Luckily my uncle survided but he spent 10 months in hospital. He was stolen almost a year of his life because that guy thought: I can still drive. But my uncle was the lucky one in that collision because the other guy died. He lost his life because he thought: I can still drive. 

So next time you are considering to drive under influence, simply think about the following: Is it worth the risk? Is it worth dying? Is it worth risking hurting or even killing others? I believe we all know that the answer to this is: No!