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.