After UK and Murray State began their game, fellow members of Big Blue Nation suffered a clearly avoidable tragedy. An 18 year old UK freshman, who was driving while intoxicated, hit and critically injured a 4 year old boy. I surely hope this child makes a full recovery for his sake, the sake of his family and the sake of the 18 year old driver who hit him.
I don’t like to preach about not drinking and driving but I will take this opportunity to do so. A drunk driver takes someone’s life in the United States every 50 minutes. A drunk driver causes someone physical injury every two minutes in the United States. Injuries and deaths caused by drunk drivers are one of the few human catastrophes which are entirely preventable.
How do I know these statistics about drunk driving? I have been a drunk driver. I spent 4 days in jail for driving while I was intoxicated. Fortunately, I did not injure or kill anyone or I might be typing this message from a prison law library or I might not have survived a fatal car crash to ever type again. To say going to jail for drunk driving was a “wake up call” is a gross understatement. It was a life changing event.
No doubt like many of you, I always believed getting caught for drunk driving was something that happened to others. Besides I didn’t drink that often. I never drank at home. I would only drink once or twice a month when I was out with friends or at a social function. I knew I could handle drinking and driving. I always had. I was a fool. I still have nightmares of running the red light I ran that night only this time I’m crashing into to an innocent mother and her child. I’m glad it’s only a nightmare I have to experience and not actually waking up to my nightmare being real. It could have been real. It’s real everyday. Doubt me? Take a peak at this latest “Google search” https://www.google.com/search?q=“drunk+driving”&tbm=nws&prmd=niv&source=lnt&tbs=sbd:1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9sPKXgr7dAhVK7YMKHbLQAfgQpwUIHg&biw=320&bih=427&dpr=2
When I went to jail, I was put in a cell with 9 other guys. They were all convicted felons. One of the guys in my cell pod had just been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his first DUI in which he killed a father of three young children. Like me, he was a professional. He had never been in any prior criminal trouble. Like me, he didn’t drink often but also like me when he did drink, he drank more than he should have before driving a car.
It was gut wrenching listening to him. He had a family of his own, nice home, well regarded in the community, a “good guy” but he was now a convicted felon about to begin a prison sentence. As he told me once while we eating the crappy jail food, “All I wanted to do that Saturday was play in a scramble golf tournament with my buddies, have a few beers and tell some lies. I never intended to hurt anybody.” I’ve heard his comments many times in my head over the last two years.
I certainly take no pride in sharing this personal revelation. Thankfully, I’m still consciously aware of the devastating calamities that attach to drinking and driving. If I can cause one person to reassess themselves about drinking and driving this post is worth the time I spent writing it. Please remember this, sometimes you don’t get a second chance to avoid making a bad decision, a bad decision that can ruin your life and the lives of others forever. Moreover, you escalate your chances of making an irreversible bad decision when you get too drunk to realize you are about to make a bad decision. Don’t drink and drive. It’s always a bad decision.
I don’t like to preach about not drinking and driving but I will take this opportunity to do so. A drunk driver takes someone’s life in the United States every 50 minutes. A drunk driver causes someone physical injury every two minutes in the United States. Injuries and deaths caused by drunk drivers are one of the few human catastrophes which are entirely preventable.
How do I know these statistics about drunk driving? I have been a drunk driver. I spent 4 days in jail for driving while I was intoxicated. Fortunately, I did not injure or kill anyone or I might be typing this message from a prison law library or I might not have survived a fatal car crash to ever type again. To say going to jail for drunk driving was a “wake up call” is a gross understatement. It was a life changing event.
No doubt like many of you, I always believed getting caught for drunk driving was something that happened to others. Besides I didn’t drink that often. I never drank at home. I would only drink once or twice a month when I was out with friends or at a social function. I knew I could handle drinking and driving. I always had. I was a fool. I still have nightmares of running the red light I ran that night only this time I’m crashing into to an innocent mother and her child. I’m glad it’s only a nightmare I have to experience and not actually waking up to my nightmare being real. It could have been real. It’s real everyday. Doubt me? Take a peak at this latest “Google search” https://www.google.com/search?q=“drunk+driving”&tbm=nws&prmd=niv&source=lnt&tbs=sbd:1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9sPKXgr7dAhVK7YMKHbLQAfgQpwUIHg&biw=320&bih=427&dpr=2
When I went to jail, I was put in a cell with 9 other guys. They were all convicted felons. One of the guys in my cell pod had just been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his first DUI in which he killed a father of three young children. Like me, he was a professional. He had never been in any prior criminal trouble. Like me, he didn’t drink often but also like me when he did drink, he drank more than he should have before driving a car.
It was gut wrenching listening to him. He had a family of his own, nice home, well regarded in the community, a “good guy” but he was now a convicted felon about to begin a prison sentence. As he told me once while we eating the crappy jail food, “All I wanted to do that Saturday was play in a scramble golf tournament with my buddies, have a few beers and tell some lies. I never intended to hurt anybody.” I’ve heard his comments many times in my head over the last two years.
I certainly take no pride in sharing this personal revelation. Thankfully, I’m still consciously aware of the devastating calamities that attach to drinking and driving. If I can cause one person to reassess themselves about drinking and driving this post is worth the time I spent writing it. Please remember this, sometimes you don’t get a second chance to avoid making a bad decision, a bad decision that can ruin your life and the lives of others forever. Moreover, you escalate your chances of making an irreversible bad decision when you get too drunk to realize you are about to make a bad decision. Don’t drink and drive. It’s always a bad decision.
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