Quote # 5

Quote # 5:

“Some might argue that measures to control drunken driving in the United States have been remarkably successful. After all, the number of people who will die because of alcohol-related crashes this year is less than half what it was 30 years ago. But it is unlikely that the families of thousands of other victims of drunken driving would agree. Drunken driving remains amount the most preventable of violent injuries.” From: “Friends Still Let Friends Drive Drunk” By: Barron Lerner M.D.

Response:

Although this may look more like a paragraph than a single quote, this is something that I felt really summed up my paper. While some solutions may be working and the death rate is down, people who have been directly affected would not agree. I feel this is simply because people make the terrible choice to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking. When this choice is classified as a violent injury, it should never be written off. Along with being a violent injury, it is the most preventable of all of them. This speaks to me in a way that is unsettling; these things should not happen. Preventable injuries are in my opinion, are simply unacceptable. While I understand that things happen and people screw up and make poor choices, but death that is avoidable is completely unnecessary. The fact that the acts for reducing drunk driving is working is a reassuring statement, yet at the same time, it is something that still needs a lot of work. Families that are forever affected probably do not agree because they can never get back the loved ones that they have lost. Luckily in today’s day and age (meaning since the 80’s) the amount of deaths caused from drunk driving has reduced drastically, until it is not an issue, the families of the innocent who gave the ultimate sacrifice, will not rest assured. I do feel that they have ground to stand on, however the problem won’t be solved by simply complaining. The crackdowns with police are helpful, but it takes the will of the intoxicated to make the final choice. 

Quote # 4

Quote # 4: “People say that drunk driving is a mistake. Its not a mistake. It’s a deliberate choice. You choose to get behind a wheel of a car after drinking. Its no wonder people are so carefree about drunk driving if it is so justified as a mistake.” From: “Drunk Driving: A License To Kill” By: Marc Acushnet

Response:

This quote is not one that I used directly in my paper but it is something that influenced me. These sentences were the intro to Acushnet’s article and they had a very resonating affect on me for my paper. This quote is something that I found very interesting because of the truth that lay behind it. I had never thought of drunk driving as something that was not a mistake. Although Acushnet’s statement is correct, meaning that I agree with it, I think that it makes a very strong point. When something is justified as a simple mistake, people feel no remorse about doing the same thing again. Unfortunately when it is something as deadly and stupid as drunk driving, people justify their actions by writing it off as a mistake. This not only bothers the crap out of me but it proves another point, if some people are not smart enough to know when they should not be drinking after driving, they shouldn’t be drinking or driving. A mistake is something that can be corrected or forgiven, whereas the choice to get behind the wheel of a car intoxicated and inadvertently taking someone’s life can never be corrected. The choice to drive drunk is one that can have everlasting effects and should never be written off as a mistake, while it doesn’t always result in tragedy, it is a choice that can play a large negative roll in the rest of your life. The choice is not to drink, or to drive; it is to simply do one or the other. 

Quote # 3

Quote # 3:

“Nearly 13,000 deaths related to alcohol-impaired driving still occur each year in the United States, despite a three-decade surge in anti-drunken driving activism, stricter laws and clever slogans like “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” There are more than 110 million instances of impaired driving each year” From: “Friends Still Let Friends Drive Drunk” By: Barron Lerner M.D.

Response:

Even though this quote was only a few startling statistics that I quoted in this part, they really help my paper display credibility. This article was featured in a print of The New York Times and featured a story about a young girl only 13 years old, and how a drunk driver killed her. Although the man who hit her was arrested, he was fortunate enough to live through this tragic event. Next time he will think twice before getting behind the wheel intoxicated, but unfortunately many people do not think like this beforehand. The fact that more than 110 million instances of impaired driving each year is scary to me. This adds a statistical viewpoint to my paper and lets the reader know just how large the issue we are dealing with. I understand that not all of the statistics apply directly to teenagers, but people who end up drinking and driving, had to have started somewhere. On top of being a professor, doctor and Ph.D of medicine and public health, Lerner has written a book named, “One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900.” While I have not read the book, the title says it all. His well known name helps to solidify his facts, that much more. The fact that this problem is big and it is not new also leaves readers with a choice to make next time they have a drink at the bar. Even though Lerner does not have a direct solution to this problem, it helped me with a great transition from So What? to Who Cares? 

Quote # 2

Quote # 2:

“At 3 a.m., the two women finally left the club. Rasdall said they didn’t think twice about getting in the car. With Rasdall at the wheel, the nest friends began the 40-minue-drive home. And then, one mile from Laura’s dorm, it happened. The car drove off Interstate 275 and down a hill, crashing into a broad tree. Both women were wearing seat belts.” From: “Drunk Driving Crash Shattered Teen’s Life” By Alan Goldberg

Response:

Just reading this quote gives me chills. That night two young women made the choice to drive home after drinking. While they almost made it back to the dorm, they didn’t. Laura never would return. Part of this quote is in both of my papers for the shear weight it carries. Reading about one little trip home at 3 a.m. turned into a deadly nightmare in seconds. This quote jumped out at me because it led up into a terrifying quote from Jessica Rasdall herself about the night that she accidentally killed her best friend. It added a dynamic to my paper that helped to make things extremely real. I myself have never lost a friend or anyone close to me in an accident influenced by intoxicated driving, however my mother and her family has which makes this a scary thing. I cannot imagine receiving a phone call telling me that one of my friends has died in a drunk driving accident that they created. Its significance to me is the fact that Goldberg felt the need to add “both women were wearing seat belts.” While this was true, it goes to show that getting behind the wheel drunk is a dumb choice that even seatbelts cannot save you from. Her best friend died in the passenger seat of her car. She will forever carry with her the fact that if they had called a cab, they would be carrying out their lives together. Luckily it did inspire Jessica to become a speaker against drunk driving, but to see what provoked that speaking, I’m sure she would take it all back for a different decision that day. 

Quote # 1

Quote # 1:

“So think about the consequences before you drink and drive… remember, you can drink and you can drive but mix the two and you can die!” From: “Drunk Driving: A License To Kill” By: Marc Acushnet

Response:

While I did not use the quote in my solutions essay, I did use it in my So what? Who Cares? essay because I felt that it carried heavy meaning. Although it is simply put, the message with it is very clear. You can drink, and you can drive, just do not ever mix the two! You can die. Those three words are deep and have a lot of meaning behind them. It helped my paper by giving a look to the reader at what other people feel about this topic, not just myself. While reading through his article this happened to be the last sentence. It left the reader thinking about the choices that we make on a daily basis and how they can positively or negatively affect the rest of our lives. Consequences to a foolish act can be fatal, plain and simple. This quote jumped out at me, because being the reader of Marc’s article, I was left thinking about my friends and the choices they make on a daily basis. Frankly it scared me, and when I feel a connection like that to a sentence, I felt it should be displayed somewhere in my paper. It added a more real feeling to my essay rather than the usual facts and sometimes un-relatable stories. Everyone will face death, Marc is just insisting it should not be done because you were too cheap to call a cab, or too selfish to phone a friend or family member. What I truly got from this quote is that Marc, along with myself, care about others well being and know that what seems like a good choice at the time, can end up being a deadly one.  

Source # 8

Source # 8- S.A.D.D.’s Contract For Life

Summary-

            S.A.D.D.org is a national organization that I used in a previous blog entry where it is described more thoroughly. This section however is very different from the one that simply lists of statistics. S.A.D.D.’s contract for life is a written up deal to print off and sign between a guardian and teenager. This contract outlines very vaguely different bad situations that teenagers can end up in and need a way out. The contract states that if both parties sign, the parents agree to withhold questioning, anger, and any signs of being upset until a later date when the situation has cooled down. This however can only work if the teenager agrees to sign their portion, which states that if they are ever in a sticky situation, of any kind, they will not hesitate to call their parent or guardian to relieve them from the situation. These two combined will both help parents to think punishments through before dishing them out, and the teenager can thing of a crafty apology for being stupid. This was not only a great source for me to use, but it provided me with an entire solution.

             

Evaluation-

            S.A.D.D. is a great organization with a clear biased view of teenagers making bad decisions as an almost inevitable issue. While I do feel slightly offended by that outlook I understand that I am the exception to the rule. They provide great things to try and help save thousands of lives each year. They have a great reputation from where I stand considering my high school had a S.A.D.D. group and a representative from the organization came to talk to us. This is one simple point, and a good one at that. While it may seem a little unbelievable to teens or parents, there is no harm in trying it out.

Source-

"SADD Contract for Life." Welcome to SADD. 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.