It's My Turn to Ask the Questions

After noticing a pretty disturbing trend in students‚ attitudes about driving under the influence, I decided that it was time for Okun to start asking the questions. WHY? What happened to the days where kids thought about designated drivers? I know that some people reading this are asking what happened to the fact that teens are not legal to be drinking in the first place; however, that, my friends, is a whole other article! This one is about seeing what is in front of me, and bringing it to you loyal readers so that everyone has a new topic to discuss at the dinner table.

I have been to way too many funerals for young people who made decisions while impaired˜decisions that cost them their lives. My senior year in high school alone, I lost three friends in three separate crashes. (Notice I did not call them „accidents‰!) It baffled me then, and it still makes my head spin thinking about the number of people who drive under the influence.

One might think that the #1 answer that I got when speaking with students was that they really believe that they are OK to drive, or that they are even better drivers when they are impaired because they are focusing on being a good driver. (Yes, I really have heard that.) No, the #1 reason that students gave in this very statistically sound poll that I took was that they did not want to get in trouble with their parents by calling and being honest. They are more afraid of breaking curfew than they are about crashing a car and risking lives. This is a problem, and a big one!

As usual, I have no "right answer" on this issue. Obviously parents do not want to be permissive and give the message that it is acceptable for their children to get hammered, just as long as they don‚t drive. Parents do need to be parents! However, they also need to keep open the lines of communication with their sons and daughters. Maybe there is no right answer and it is different for every family — but it needs to be discussed. Kids need to understand that there in no consequence that a parent can dole out that is worse than killing themselves or someone else.