Don’t Drink and Drive
Today I was supposed to meet Travis for lunch at 11:45, but instead, I was faced with the opportunity to help get an intoxicated motorist off the road. I first noticed the driver’s erratic driving while following behind him for a couple of miles, but I didn’t realize the severity of his problem until, while approaching a stop light, he almost forced me and a fellow driver off the road, where there also sat a homeless man in the path of destruction.
All of us in disbelief, I’m grateful for my fellow driver (we’ll call him Todd Jared,John) who declared to me (in a non-threatening way), “I’m going after this guy”. Realizing that it might be helpful for Todd to have some sort of backup for any one of numerous reasons, I overcame my initial hesitation and decided to help Todd in tracking the drunk driver. Eventually, the intoxicated driver pulled into a gas station and we approached him, resolving not to let him get back on the road. I called the police while Todd spoke with the man to see if he was okay. It was obvious he was not. It was obvious he had been drinking.
The cops arrived and began questioning the man. It was clear to them that he had been drinking, but because they had not witnessed him driving there were two options: 1) they could arrest him for suspicion of DUI based on our testimony or 2) they could allow him to go free if someone came and picked him up. If he didn’t have anyone to pick him up, they would default to option 1. The officers suggested option 2, and ultimately Todd and I agreed. We were both willing to testify about what we witnessed, but each officer’s prognosis regarding the outcome was the same: the process would be long and drawn out, possibly require several consecutive days spent in a courtroom waiting, and a guilty verdict based on two citizens’ testimonies was hardly guaranteed.
I can honestly say that I’m not at all disappointed with the outcome. My primary purpose in maintaining my involvement in the situation was to find out what was going on with this guy, and if necessary, to keep him off the road. At that point, no one had been injured and the man was at least out of the vehicle and no longer a danger to other motorists. I do hope, however, that this is a wake up call to him and to his family members. I hope that there is someone in his life that can hold him accountable for his actions and prevent him from getting on the road in that condition ever again. I’m also very grateful that there are people like Todd out there, who genuinely care and are able to help diffuse a situation like this without resorting to violence or force.
It’s not always obvious, when I’m driving, how many of my fellow motorists are operating their vehicles under the legal level of intoxication. Today, however, I was suspicious of a particular driver and my suspicions turned out to be well founded. For the safety of yourself and the others around you, please don’t drink and drive. And if you think you might have the urge to drive while intoxicated, take steps to prevent yourself from getting in the car before you get too drunk to make that decision.