Driving drunk last more than a night

Fri, 27 May 2011 18:16:02 GMT

By Zachary Connelly

WBNG TV
Medical services attend to injured students in mock car crash

How many lives do you affect with one bad decision? Sept 11, 2001, was a devastating day for the United States. There were nearly 3,000 deaths associated to it. The parents, siblings, and children of those 3,000 were all affected as well. Add to that the relatives, friends, and coworkers of the victims and the total number of people affected by that one terrorist attack nears 1 million. Now imagine that number being 13,000 deaths. Think of that per year by the time you're fifty years old. 13,000 deaths per year times 50 years equals 650,000 deaths. Just think of the number of lives that have been touched over those fifty years. That number comes from one cause. No, it's not from war, or suicide, or gang related deaths, or smoking. It's drunk driving. 13,000 people every year are killed by alcohol related accidents. Many people think, "I’m okay to drive. I can do it.” They're wrong, and often it ends in a two car accident with some people dead and even more left in critical condition. Imagine being the driver of that. How much your life is affected by it, being the only one to walk away fine and having eight people lives on your mind. Gabe Osterhout said “ There should be a stricter law, absolutely. Jail time is a deterrent, but living with the deaths on your mind is the biggest deterrent.” That is something every survivor will have to live with for the rest of there life. My father works in Maryland and comes home on the weekend. He told me this “ When I was down there a drunk driver the age of 21 was driving home with two 16 year old girls and a 17 year old boy. The driver swerved and hit a tree. The driver survived and the other three did not. Not only does he face charges but now he has to live with that for the rest of his life.” On May 25, 2011 our school put on a mock accident. It was to show how bad drinking and driving is. there was a total of eight ambulances, three police cars, a fire truck, and a helicopter from Guthrie Air Health services. The amount of people that helped with the countless hours to put this together is amazing. They spent months to make this one day. When looking at the crowd while the accident was going on; there were blank stares and jaw dropping. The people watching it were in awe. The point that the accident was supposed to make about the danger and sad results really got across to the student body. Many people were in shock by the devastation of it. The acting was great and they accomplished everything they wanted too. Overall it showed the student how many people were affected by the crash. It shows what can happen if you drink and drive, or get in the car with a person who has been drinking The consequences can last a life time and can haunt a person forever. The bottom line is do not drink and drive period. Tens of thousands of lives could be be saved each year. Save a life don’t drink and drive.

The Tiger Eye

Driving drunk last more than a night