How to Save A Friend's Life (and Your Own)
April 02, 2008
Drinking and Driving: How to Save a Friend's Life (and Your Own)
Every year drunk drivers kill more than 17,000 people. People just like you. How can you save the life of someone you care about? Take a look at the tips below. Then be a true friend. Don't let your friends drive drunk.
You're at a party and people have been drinking. "Let's go," a friend laughs, swaying drunkenly and jangling the car keys. What can you do? The tips below may save a friend's life - or your own.
Remember, no one
is safe from drunk drivers.
Drunk driving is the number one killer of teens and young adults.
Every day, eight young people die in alcohol-related car crashes.
That's a lot of friends, classmates and family members. Think it
couldn't happen to you? All it takes is getting into a car
after someone has been drinking.
Your friend
doesn't have to feel drunk.
For some people, even a small amount of alcohol can
affect the ability to drive. You don't have to act or feel
drunk. Drinking only beer doesn't make it safer. Beer and wine have
the same amount of alcohol as a mixed drink. Drinking coffee or
going for a walk doesn't make it safer to drive after
drinking.
If you are around
alcohol, you have options.
Remember, you don't have to drink, even if other people are. Plan
how you will get home safely. Be the driver, or make sure the
driver isn't drinking. Do all you can to keep a friend who has been
drinking from getting behind the wheel.
Explain that drunk
driving is a serious crime.
Imagine how your friend would feel if he or she hurt or killed
someone.If someone is hurt or killed in a drunk driving crash, the
driver can be prosecuted and sent to prison. Even if your friend
doesn't get into a crash, he or she could be arrested, lose his or
her driver's license, or go to jail.
Whatever you do,
don't get in the car.
If your friend still insists on driving, don't go along. You will
only put yourself in danger. With luck, your friend may get home
safely. But luck won't last. The next time you see the person, say
how worried you were.
Call for a
lift.
No safe way for you or a friend to get home? Call or take a
bus. Call your older brother or sister, parent or a neighbor. Don't
worry that they'll be upset with you. They'd be more upset if you
were hurt or killed in a crash.
When all else
fails . . . Take the car keys.
Your friend may be mad. But he or she will thank you later.In a
jam? Spend the night. Just be sure to call home and let them know
you're okay.
PUT THE BRAKES ON
A DRUNK FRIEND
What can you say when a friend thinks he or she can drive safely,
but you're not so sure? Try these responses:
I don't feel drunk. It doesn't take much to affect your driving.
I'm not going far. Then it's no problem for me to drive you.
I'm a good drive. I know you are - when you're sober.
What are you, my mom? No, I'm your friend. And I'd rather not see you hurt or kill yourself.
Be Strong - Live Long!
