The Dangers of Alcohol and Driving

Last night, our Drivers Ed. instructor played a rather depressing video. It was really sad, but very important for any driver to see.

The video started with two police officers keeping an eye out for anything bad at a gas station. They see a group of suspicious looking high schoolers waiting by a truck. A few minutes later a car pulls up next to the truck and an older looking (over 21 years old) guy comes out. The driver of the truck (18 years old) hands him some money and the older guy goes into the gas station store and buys a pack of beer for the teens. The police arrest the 21 year old guy and I think the teens may have gotten fined. I can't remember though.

In the next scene, the police never caught them at the gas station and they brought the beet home to a friend's house. They had a bunch of teens over for a party and shared the drinks. The police get a call from the neighbors of that house complaining about the loud music and possible under-aged drinking. They go and investigate. Sure enough, everyone there is a minor and was drinking alcohol. The host of the party was arrested and the rest of the teens got fined.

In the next scene, the police never caught the teens at the party. The 18 year old guy that owned the truck gives some of his friends a ride home. On their way a police officer who was on watch for drunk drivers spots them. She pulls the truck over. She can smell the alcohol in the truck when the driver rolls his window down. The driver and his friends lie to the police about drinking even though the driver is obviously drunk, and there are empty cans of beer in the truck. The police officer tests the driver for any drunk symptoms, and then arrests him. The rest of the teens may or may not have been fined.

Lastly, they show as though the police never caught them. The drunk, teen, driver continues driving. His steering gets really bad and some of the passengers start getting nervous and beg him to pull over. He doesn't and claims he's fine. Of course, they crash. The driver has a broken leg and other various injuries, the passengers all get pretty serious injuries. One girl becomes a paraplegic, a guy has to learn how to walk again and has to use a cane, as far as I know, for the rest of his life, two girls healed back to normal, and one girl (girlfriend to the guy with the cane) dies. After the driver is healed from his injuries, he gets fined a lot of money and is put in jail for 30 years for manslaughter.

Needless to say, don't drink and drive! If you do drink, find a designated driver.

We also watched a video on distracted driving. So, don't play the radio too loud. If you have a passenger in the car, let them tune the radio, answer your phone calls or texts. Pull over to eat, or apply makeup. Pull over if you and your passenger are having an emotional conversation. Keep yourself from getting distracted for driving for the protection others and yourself.

Also, if you're struggling to stay awake behind the wheel, have someone else drive or pull over and take a 20 minute nap.

It's a privilege to drive a vehicle, not a right. :) Most of this stuff is common sense so, be sensible.