Having a Party Plan Can Help Avoid DUIs

The recent car crash and death of Jackass star Ryan Dunn has brought concerns about drunk driving back to the forefront of American culture. While Dunn wasn’t a college student, he certainly liked to party like one. His car crash killed not only himself, but also a friend who was riding in the car with him at the time.

Of course, police did find that Dunn’s blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit, and it’s estimated that he was driving at 130 miles per hour at the time of the crash. Let’s take a lesson from this tragedy. Knowing your limits is not a sign of weakness. If you’ve had enough to drink, just say so. Anyone who pushes a friend to drink more than he or she can handle is not really a friend at all.

Partying on the weekends and during school breaks has been a college tradition for almost as long as there have been colleges. With the stress and headaches of balancing an education, a job, and a social life, who wouldn’t want the occasional break to blow off some steam?

Drinking and driving has also been a large issue at colleges for many years. As we continue to hear more about drunk driving injuries and fatalities, many college towns and even colleges and university police forces have stepped up their penalties.

Does this really deter students from drinking and driving, though? The problem is, you’re not thinking clearly when you’ve been drinking. You may know the consequences, but you think you’re fine to drive, or that you won’t get caught. That’s why you need to consider all of the factors and have a plan before you start partying.

Even if you don’t crash your car, you could still be pulled over by police. The fines and penalties associated with DUI and DWI offenses vary from state to state, but the growing trend is that they are more costly and harder to recover from. A blemish like this on your driving record could come back to haunt you when you graduate from college and are looking to begin a career. Human resources may not be so quick to hand over the keys to that company car once they take a closer look at your driving offenses.

So how do you avoid the potential trap of drinking and driving? Once you’ve considered all of the possible negative consequences, make a plan. Whether that plan includes a designated driver, using public transportation, making sure that there is a place for you to ‘crash’ at the party until you’re sober again… these are all good options. Decide on a case-by-case basis which is right for you and stick to your plan. You’ll be much happier as a graduation statistic than a DUI fatality one.