The Facts: At 3 a.m . on Sunday, Steven Otto, a senior in chemistry, was hit by a car while biking on Dan Allen Drive. Otto was hit by Ross Chapman, a junior in civil engineering, whose blood alcohol content was above the legal limit of .08. Otto is currently in critical condition at Wake Medical Center.
Our Opinion: It seems we cover cases of drunk driving far too often. It’s inexcusable for these incidents to happen with such regularity. In the environment in which we live, there are almost unlimited resources to get home when drunk. Driving yourself home should never be one of them.
News has a way of repeating itself. Every four years, we know there will be political strife. Every year, we know there will be a tuition increase to cover. Every week, we know there will be games. There is regularity to news that is comforting; however, while regular, the news of another accident involving a drunk driver is jarring.
At 3 a.m . on Sunday, Steven Otto, a senior in chemistry, was hit by a car while biking on Dan Allen Drive. The driver of the car was Ross Chapman, a junior in civil engineering, whose blood alcohol content was above the legal limit of .08. Otto is currently in critical condition at Wake Medical Center. This case, along with all other cases of drunk driving leave us with twisted guts and a simple question: Why?
Why do people drink and drive? What purpose does that serve, other than to endanger yourself and others? The fact is, drunk driving is one of the most inexcusable and irresponsible crimes one can commit. Why anyone does it remains a mystery.
Drunk driving doesn’t happen by chance. It’s not a one time thing. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the average drunk driver will drive drunk 80 times before their first arrest. Almost 11,000 people will die this year due to drunk drivers. It’s a constant danger. Over the course of your life, there is a 33 percent chance you’ll be involved in an alcohol-related crash.
It’s a problem that touches us all in some way. Drunk driving is not a disease or an epidemic; it is a decision. A decision that cannot be accepted.
Instead of driving drunk in Raleigh, you have numerous alternatives. You can always turn to your friends. You will never have more friends localized in such a confined area in your life. Not all of them will go out for the evening. Someone will be sober. Someone would rather drive you home than having you do it yourself.
We live in a metropolitan area; a major benefit of this is transportation comes easy. Whether it’s a bus or a taxi, you’re never left without options. For the most part, our activities are generally so close to campus it’s generally not out of the question to walk.
Most drivers say this sort of crash will never happen to them, but that’s just an excuse. When you drive drunk you are putting not only your own life at risk, but whoever is in the car, on the road or nearby at risk as well. Wrecks while drunk driving are 100 percent preventable.
There’s no excuse for driving drunk in the first place, but when you consider all of the resources we have for safe transport home, it’s inexcusable for drunk-driving accidents to occur with regularity.”
