The Dangers of Drinking and Driving
Most people realize already that driving under the influence isn’t a good idea, but few actually take the time to analyze why that is. Sure there is a danger of getting caught and getting a ticket, which could potentially do real harm to your life, but there’s also the risk that you’ll hurt yourself or someone else. That’s a far more serious issue that needs to be considered for Virginia drivers. If you’re thinking about drinking and driving in Virginia, or you’ve done so in the past, take the time to think about how it can affect your life and what damage the act could actually do.
Risks of Drinking and Driving in Virginia
States all over the country are increasing their penalties for drunk driving to try to make sure people stop doing it, and Virginia is no exception. The laws are going to continue to get stricter and stricter over time, but getting caught today could already cost you a whole lot of trouble.
When you’re caught drinking and driving you’ll be taken off to jail where you’ll sit behind bars while waiting to be picked up by a sober friend or relative, or while waiting to be processed for time in jail until your hearing in the stricter states.
Drivers will face a trial and if convicted of a DUI they will suffer from a license suspension, severe fines of thousands of dollars in some instances, be forced to serve community service and in many states do some jail time, even on a first offense. That’s a pretty serious set of consequences all because you couldn’t find a different way home after that night of drinking.
Higher Costs of Insurance
A single DUI on your record will classify you as a risky driver and that almost certainly means higher insurance costs. A single DUI could cost you potentially thousands of dollars in increased insurance costs on top of the fines that you face in the beginning.
Poor Driving Skills and Fatalities
Driving a car is demanding and keeping out of trouble while heading down the road requires coordination, excellent vision and reaction time. All of these things are impaired when you’re drunk. While drunk vision and hearing both are impaired by nearly 32%. Reaction times are reduced 15% to 25%, your concentration is destroyed and you lack the coordination to smoothly move around the road.
More than half of all the auto-related deaths that occur today are due to alcohol and driving while intoxicated. Driving accidents are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 5 and 35 and more than half of those deaths could have been avoided if the person behind the wheel, of the offending vehicle wasn’t drunk. Those are some pretty serious statistics and they explain clearly why it doesn’t make any sense to drive drunk. Not only is doing so a huge risk to your livelihood and your future, but it’s a risk to your life and the others around you.
Don’t drink and drive and you won’t risk your future, you won’t risk your life and you’ll help protect the other people out on the road as well. It’s a simple choice to make, and it’s worth the inconvenience of calling a taxi, asking a friend or a ride or simply walking home.