The choice to drive under the influence and the personal experiences effected by this choice.

The choice to drive under the influence and the personal experiences effected by this choice.

Many feel safe inside their car, which is understandable, you put your seat belt on and are surrounded by what feels like a strong metal shell, it feels impenetrable, but it is not. An important thing to remember is that you may be the safest driver in the world, but you are not the only person on the road, and some take that feeling of being invincible in the confines of their car too far.

The first car crash I was involved in was when I was seven years old and the memory is hazy as I was concussed. The image of the inside of the ambulance has stayed with me, however. It is said that when a child is quiet after an accident that this is more cause for concern than when they are crying as it implicates that their brain has been harmed, I was quiet. My mother was taking me to school, it was morning in broad daylight on a main road, so the speed limit was high. A drunk driver had not gaged the distance of how far in front we were and rammed into the rear end of our car. I am not entirely sure what happened to that man, I hope he walked away unharmed whilst also hoping that he was not allowed to drive again.

The second accident was far more recent, only four years ago. I had converted a van into a campervan, and it had a bed at the rear where I would sleep and sit whilst I read. I had decided to go for a stroll in the surrounding area one night and on my return, I heard the impact. The van was stationary, it was parked on the side of a road. A driver who was extremely inebriated had been driving far beyond the speed limit and swerved into the back of the van, exactly where my head would have been if I had been inside. The driver had managed to reverse and attempt to flee the scene leaving the front of his car lodged in the van as it hit with such a force it had penetrated inside. This meant we had his registration plate as it was lodged into where the bed had once been.

I have been involved in two car accidents and both have been because of a person who decided to drink and then get behind the wheel under the influence. This reckless decision is not a rarity, I do not think I am alone in admitting I have people I know personally who have driven under the influence and it is simply luck they have not harmed another or themselves by making this choice. I consider myself lucky to be alive today to write this essay after my two collisions with drivers under the influence. I have said ‘accident’ in this writing, but it is a choice to drive under the influence, something that can be avoided and save countless lives.