Let’s face it, people are going to go out and drink alcohol. If one does, at least in this area of the country, your transportation choices primarily are limited to driving, walking or maybe taking a cab. There is nothing illegal, whatsoever, about drinking and then driving. It is only illegal to drive if you have been rendered incapable of safely doing so by alcohol, or your breath alcohol content is over .08. However, recent news stories have reinforced the notion that some people have that it is better to “chance it” and drive when you are actually drunk, than to opt for walking or calling for a cab.
The New York Times has an editorial from the Freakonomics people about all of the response that they have received to the section in their recent book, SuperFreakonomics, regarding drunk driving. According to Freakonomics, it may be more dangerous to walk drunk than to drive drunk. By their statistics, there is one fatality for every 1.6 million miles driven drunk in America. The numbers for miles walked is higher. The article also crunches the numbers to demonstrate that it may be a toss up between driving drunk and taking a cab, as far as the costs go. Don’t shoot the messenger. The authors are the highly respected, best-selling economists and journalists, not me. But, it does make you think.
Of course, these days, driving your vehicle after drinking could get you caught up in a checklane, where drivers were strapped to chairs on the side of the road and had their blood taken from them. These photos are very creepy if you ask me, and every American should consider them. One lesson to take away is if you don’t want to be subjected to medical procedures while trying to get home, you are back to taking a cab or walking, notwithstanding the statistical warnings of Freakonomics.
Taking a cab would certainly seem like the most sensible option to avoid driving drunk (assuming you can get a cab – I don’t think there are any such services in most parts of Kansas, including Johnson County). However, consider a story from Houston of a world gone mad: A father and daughter (22 year old wife and mother) went out on Thanksgiving weekend for some holiday cheer and to watch a game at a sports bar. Because they knew they would be drinking and wanted to be responsible, they took a cab there. When it came time to go home, they went outside to wait for their cab to arrive. While waiting in the parking lot for a ride, both father and daughter were arrested for public intoxication. They were doing no more than standing outside of the establishment waiting for their safe and sober ride home.
Believe it or not, most cities in Johnson County, Kansas, have ordinances against walking while intoxicated (called “Pedestrian Under the Influence) or public intoxication. So, the father and daughter mentioned above couldn’t have driven, walked or taken a cab in our state. Enforcement of such laws against people who are walking home from drinking or waiting for a cab only encourages people to go ahead and take their chances behind the wheel. A ticket for public intoxication is certainly better than a DUI, but it is unfortunate that anyone would get arrested when they are making a far more responsible choice than to drive.
There is another choice: designate a driver and hope that person sticks to the plan of not drinking. It is not failsafe, but it looks like it is better than driving, walking or even calling a cab. Norton Hare certainly encourages everyone to be safe and designate a driver over this holiday season. Don’t become a statistic or involuntary blood donor.