Why Do People Drink and Drive?

It is a well-known fact that it is dangerous and potentially deadly to drive while you’re under the influence of alcohol, so why do people drink and drive? There are many different reasons that a person might do this:

• People often think that having one drink is not a big deal, or that consuming one drink per hour makes it safe to drive home later.
  
• Some people actually think that they drive better and more carefully when they are drinking!
  
• There is a lot of incorrect and unsafe information out there. Having a glass of water between drinks or having just a few drinks throughout the night does NOT mean it is safe to drive. Any amount of alcohol impairs your judgment and can make driving very dangerous.
  
• People go out and intend to stay sober so that they can safely drive home, but they often end up not being able to control themselves. Once a person has a drink or two, their judgment is impaired, and they may do things they didn’t plan on doing. They may not realize exactly how drunk they are.
  
• Habitual drunk drivers often think they can drive safely while under the influence. If they have been driving drunk for a long time and have never had an accident or gotten into trouble, it will embolden them to continue drinking and driving.
  
• People often end up drinking and driving because they don’t have a solid plan to get home. Maybe they tried to call an Uber or Lyft, but there isn’t one available, or it will just take too long. If they aren’t in or near a city, there may not be many Ubers or Lyfts, and there might not be any taxi companies either. Feeling like they’re in a bind, some people may decide that driving home is the easiest or only thing to do.
  
• People are also worried about spending too much money and would rather just drive home because they don’t think it is that risky.  
  

Drinking and driving is a scary and very dangerous thing to do, but sometimes it happens. Driving after you have a drink or two doesn’t make you a bad person, but it’s just not worth the risk. Your best bet is to try to find a designated driver to get you to and from your destination safely.

What Is A Designated Driver?

A designated driver is someone who has agreed to stay sober and drive home at the end of the night. A designated driver is usually one person in a large group who is responsible for getting everyone home safely. If the evening is going to include drinking alcohol, it is crucial to have a designated driver. If no one in your group wants to be a designated driver, you can hire someone to fill this role.

Reasons To Use A Designated Driver

It’s not a secret that alcohol severely impacts a person’s ability to drive safely. It slows a person’s reaction time, negatively affects a person’s motor skills and coordination, reduces a person’s concentration, and negatively impacts a person’s judgment. No matter how careful you are, alcohol negatively affects your brain and makes it unsafe to drive. Alcohol also increases risk-taking behavior and makes it more difficult for a person to recognize danger, which is extremely risky if you’re behind the wheel.

If you plan on going out and drinking, having a designated driver is the safest plan. Drunk driving is a HUGE problem, and it causes so many avoidable deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 28 people in the United States die every day from drunk-driving-related crashes. That’s equal to a little more than one person every hour! In 2019, there were more than 10,000 deaths from drunk driving accidents in the United States.

If your BAC is .08 or above, you can be convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). DUIs can be extremely expensive. If convicted of a DUI, you could spend time in jail, lose your driver’s license, and have to pay very steep fines. Plus, the cost of hiring an attorney can be very expensive! For example, in some states, the fine for your first DUI could be up to $5,000, and you could go to jail for up to 6 months. Plus, you could lose your driver’s license for an entire year. That’s just for getting one DUI! It simply isn’t worth it.  

Keep in mind that for people under the age of 21, many states in the US have zero-tolerance laws regarding drinking and driving. This means that the legal driving limit is no longer .08, but sometimes .02 or even 0. If you’re not of legal age to drink, almost any amount of alcohol in your system could lead to a DUI conviction.

Additionally, repeat offenders account for about 33% of all arrests related to drunk driving. So if you’ve been driving drunk for a while but have never been in an accident or been arrested, it’s probably just a matter of time

The only way to be safe if you are out drinking for the night is to develop a plan to get home safely. This plan should not include driving yourself home after you’ve had any amount of alcohol. Not only is drinking and driving deadly, but it can also be extremely expensive if you’re lucky enough to make it out alive.

Other benefits of having a designated driver include not having to worry about parking, and being able to relax and enjoy the ride home!

Finding A Designated Driver

Finding a designated driver doesn’t have to be complicated. There are several different options, especially if you plan well! One of the easiest ways to find a designated driver is simply picking someone out of your group who will remain sober and drive everyone home safely. This isn’t always the most fun option because it means someone has to stay sober throughout the night. If you’re going out to celebrate or getting together with people you don’t see very often, this might not be the most appealing option. In a situation like this, it might be best to actually use a designated driver service and hire a driver for the evening. They can pick you up, drop you off somewhere, and drive you anywhere you want throughout the night, all for a reasonable hourly rate. With so many different options, why do people drink and drive?

Another common way to get home safely is to call an Uber or Lyft at the end of the night. This is a fairly easy option and is generally reliable. However, if it’s really late at night or early in the morning, sometimes there aren’t that many cars available to pick you up, especially if you’re with a larger group of people. It’s sometimes hard to plan things out ahead of time. While you can request an Uber or Lyft to pick you up at a specific time, they don’t always show up, and you may end up standing around waiting for another driver, assuming there is one available.

If you drove to your destination at the beginning of the night and then decide to drink, taking an Uber or Lyft home means you’ll have to make another trip the next day to get your car back.

While this is most certainly better and safer than driving home after drinking, it isn’t the most ideal way to spend your time the next day. However, it’s a smart use of your time! It’s certainly better than getting arrested or crashing into someone because you decided to drive home drunk.

Another excellent option is to hire a driver to drop you off and then pick you up at the end of the night, which sounds a whole lot more expensive than it is. Whether you need a driver to pick you up, drop you off, or just drive you around throughout the night, there are options for all of these things, and they are affordable! When you hire a driver, they will transport you in the comfort of your own car. This means you never have to worry about getting your car back to your home because it will already be there at the end of the night! If you go out often and find yourself needing a ride home more than once in a while, it might actually make sense to hire a full-time driver.

With all of these options, why do people drink and drive still?  We hope that getting this information out to the public might reduce the number of people who drink and drive and lessen the number of drunk driving accidents.

Tips For Designated Drivers

• Make sure you have a driver’s license and a car that is registered and fully insured.
  
• Find something to drink that doesn’t have alcohol in it. Having a drink in your hands can reduce the urge to have an alcoholic drink.
  
• Make sure everyone knows you are the designated driver. This way, no one will offer you drinks or pressure you into drinking. This will also keep you accountable. If everyone knows that you are driving and aren’t supposed to drink, they will keep an eye on you, and it will be harder for you to drink, even if you want to.
  
• Set some ground rules. You are the driver, so other people have to be on your schedule, which should be agreed upon beforehand to make sure everyone gets home safely. If you want to leave by midnight, make sure everyone knows and is ready to go on time. If you have space for four people, make sure you don’t promise to drive home more people than you can fit.
  
• Make sure you aren’t always stuck being the designated driver, or it’s going to become quite a drag. This will be harder to stick to your special role. Make sure you and your friends are taking turns!
  

Being a designated driver may not be the most fun, but it’s incredibly important. Drinking and driving just isn’t worth it. It’s dangerous and can turn deadly in an instant. If no one in your group wants to be a designated driver, please consider hiring a driver!