Under the Influence

The door shook as my father’s fists pounded down on it. I looked over to my stepmother for guidance, but her face mirrored mine—confused and scared.

“Let me in!” my father screamed through the door. My stepmother rushed over and opened the door, revealing my father standing behind it. His eyes were glossed over, and his face was flushed. He walked into the house and slammed the door behind him.

“What is going on?” my stepmother shouted at him. He looked over at her and frantically tried to explain what the chaos was about.

“I crashed my car. I guess the cops are close behind me. I got out of the car and ran here.”

“Russel, that is a hit-and-run. Have you been drinking?” my stepmother questioned. I could see anger and fear mixing together inside of her. My father waved her off and started barking directions at my sister and me.

“You need to run downstairs and hide. If you hear someone knocking on the door, don’t open it. The cops can’t come in unless they have a warrant.” We were both terrified, but we had no choice but to listen. So we collected our things and ran to the basement.

This was probably the most terrifying experience that I went through as a child. As I grew older, I realized that my father was an alcoholic. At the time, he had been struggling with addiction, and he decided to get behind the wheel that day after heavily drinking. I also found out that he had driven my sister and I around multiple times while under the influence. I always wonder what could have happened if we were in the backseat that day when he crashed; that thought haunts me.

In 2020, 11,654 people lost their lives in car accidents where at least one driver was under the influence of alcohol.¹ Driving under the influence is a huge problem in America. There’s a widely held belief among a lot of drivers that they can safely drive after drinking. According to a survey put out by the American Addiction Centers, “53.5% of survey respondents [felt] capable of driving after drinking.” ² This statistic illustrates the lack of education that people have about the dangers of drunk driving and their inability to take the precautions necessary to prevent accidents from happening.

There are systems working to reduce the amount of alcohol-impaired driving, like ignition interlocks that are installed in cars. These systems prevent cars from starting unless the driver’s BAC is below a certain percentage (usually 0.02%) ³. These systems are being put in place as consequences for getting caught driving under the influence. This reduces the amount of alcohol-impaired driving because it prevents drivers from reoffending. Along with consequential measures, preventative measures are also put in place. If someone is intoxicated, they can utilize services like Uber or Lyft, which allow them to get where they need to go without driving. There are also school-based instructional programs and driver’s education programs that teach teens not to drink and drive and to stay out of cars with a drunk driver behind the wheel. In the driver’s education course that I took, I was required to watch testimonials about how drunk driving has affected people. This is significant because it allows drivers who have never been involved in or impacted by a drunk driving accident to see how it affects people in real life. This influences drivers not to drive while intoxicated, thus reducing the number of deaths due to drunk driving.

As I continue to drive, I will actively work against drunk driving. I will never get behind the wheel if I have been drinking, and I will not allow people to drive if they are drunk. I will offer to buy them a Lyft or an Uber so that they can safely get home, or I will offer to drive them home myself. The bottom line is to stop driving drunk. I can’t stress how important that is. Drivers should never get behind the wheel if they have had anything to drink, and they should also never get in a car with someone who has been drinking. If everyone followed the preventative measures designed to reduce the amount of alcohol-impaired driving, a lot of lives could be saved.

¹ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Traffic Safety Facts: 2020 Data.” 2020 Data: Alcohol-Impaired Driving, Apr. 2022, crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813294. Accessed 28 Nov. 2022.

²Staff, Editorial. “Drunk Driving Statistics: Drinking & Driving in the US.” American Addiction Centers, 26 July 2022, americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/drunk-driving-statistics-in-america. Accessed 28 Nov. 2022.

³CDC. “What Works: Strategies to Reduce or Prevent Alcohol-Impaired Driving | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center.” Www.cdc.gov, 3 Nov. 2020, www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/impaired_driving/strategies.html.