The Real Cost of Drunk Driving

The
Real Cost of Drunk Driving

My
grandmother was born in Ireland and moved to America when she was
seventeen. One of her childhood friends had come to visit her with
her family. My mother was supposed to show my grandmother’s
friend’s daughter around the area. We live in Maryland, so my mom
decided that it would be a good idea to show her new friend around
Baltimore city for the day. Driving through an intersection she heard
a car speeding through the intersection, she looked to her left as
the vehicle collided with the drivers-side door. They discovered that
the man was a drunk driver. She and her friend spent weeks in the
hospital and among other health issues my mother had a rod put into
her ankle. She still has complications with walking almost three
decades later.

I
know that the drunk driving issue has been talked about for quite
some time, yet there are still around ten-thousand drunk driving
deaths in America every year (NHTSA). We need to change the culture
around drunk-driving in America. To many people it is a taboo topic
in which our only response is simply “don’t do it”. But the
issue will not go away if we brush it under the rug. We live in a
time in which there are so many options, like Uber and Lyft, that
nobody should drink and drive.

I
believe that education to end drunk driving should start at home.
Parents should teach their children the dangers of drunk driving. Too
many parents don’t talk to their children enough about how
dangerous drunk driving can really be. While it is important to talk
about the risk you are when driving under the influence, I believe a
more effective way of teaching would be monetary costs. In America,
the average cost of a DUI is around three-thousand dollars. This
comes from a couple hundred dollar fine, court and license fees,
insurance costs, and much more. This is on top of a suspended license
and possible jail time. To many Americans, money is extremely
important, so I believe that knowing the costs could make people
think twice about getting behind the wheel while impaired.

If
we change the culture around parents teaching their children the
dangers of drunk driving. People may be more informed to put the keys
down when deciding if they should drive home after a long night of
partying.