Every mommy will work her hardest to protect her child. That’s a given. But what happens when the scenario is not in your hands?
We’ve all heard the dangers of drunk driving. They’re taught to our kids in school and we stress the lessons of not driving while under the influence automatically nowadays. But why do we still hear stories of terrible things happening in relation to driving drunk?
About one year ago, four boys in my town were involved in a deadly car accident because the driver of the car was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. They were all about to enter their freshman years of college. But unfortunately two of the boys did not make it to college. They didn’t even make it past the crash. They died on impact. Although these boys were also under the influence and were cognizant of their actions entering the car, the seamless action of their poor decision became the end of their lives. Worst of all, the driver of the car is one of the boys that survived and has to live with the guilt of killing his friends and serve time for their deaths.
And God forbid there had been another car on the road in proximity to their car. Think about all the innocent lives that could have been affected or lost due to this poor decision. Unfortunately I’m aware that things like this happen all the time, everywhere -not just to the four teenage boys in my town. There have been so many instances of drunk driving tragedies that the words’ meaning have become so diluted. We forget about the repercussions when it doesn’t involve us personally.
I reflect back on this and am saddened by the fact that everyone has seemed to move past this tragedy. The teens who were friends with the victims went to college, the community affected turned their focus to the next item on the block, summer ended and the devastation became a feeling of the past -we all moved on.
Yet this accident had the largest impact of all and will always loom around the families of these boys. The mothers who will never see their sons again. Drunk driving changed these lives forever. In a way, loved ones can’t really ever move past a day like this. I am troubled on behalf of these people. I know organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving are out there doing good things in the world but at some point you have to wonder when or if people will learn on their own. I’m concerned for my children and I’m concerned for the future. How high does the death toll have to rise before people learn?
This was a guest post from Erin at dallasdwilawyer.org
