While laws are explicitly against it, drunk driving is still a common offense done by many. Your Saturday night with your friends may have gotten off to a good start, with different drinks and games you may have tried. And as the party ends, you think to yourself that you can manage to drive perfectly fine – despite having had too many drinks. But the truth is, it’s dangerous.
Impaired driving continues to be one of the most serious and pressing issues that can change one’s life severely that even their family and other people can be affected. If you have been struggling with alcohol abuse and drunk driving is something you risk doing or think you can get away with, this article is for you.
Read through below to know how drunk driving can transform your life.
1. It May Cause License Suspension Or Revocation
The DUI laws can differ from one state to another, and with additional information from credible sources online, you can be aware of them. The more severe your drunk driving case is, the higher the consequence. At the minimum, your license may be temporarily suspended, and at its maximum, it may be permanently revoked.
Even the minimum consequence of drunk driving can affect your life significantly. If you need to drive to get to work, you’ll have to take public transportation during your license suspension. It’s not just about comfort, but also convenience, especially if you have to travel far. If you have a family, you may need to drive your kids to and from school, do the groceries, and run other errands. Now, you may not be able to do that as well.
The worst of these scenarios is when you need your driver’s license for your job, such as if you are a truck driver. Without your driver’s license, you may not have a job to go back to. As a result, you may not have a means of earning, affecting you and your family, if you have one.
2. It Affects Your Work Productivity
When you have a car accident because of drunk driving, your work productivity could be affected, too. You may not be able to return to work right away when your license is suspended. Or you may be in the hospital, having your injuries treated from the accident you caused. What is worse is that you may be facing jail time.
Those days you missed work are also missed income opportunities. If your HR team doesn’t consider those absences as acceptable leaves given the nature of the cause, then you may not be given compensation for your missed work.
Furthermore, because of drunk driving, your image can be affected negatively. So, if you are an employee or a business owner, you may face consequences at work due to your actions. In many instances, some of those individuals who have been charged with drunk driving may even lose their jobs.
3. It Leads To Possible High Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
Getting charged with a DUI for drunk driving is expensive. First, you will have to pay for your DUI attorney. On top of that, you may have to cover medical expenses both for yourself and the injured party if such is present. You may also be charged with fines and penalties. If you damaged property in the accident, then that’s another expense.
Whether you have a comprehensive insurance policy or not, the list of expenses can go on and on. It can cause a huge blow to your monthly budget or savings, just for you to pay for those costs. If you’re not financially stable to have extra money to cover those expenses, you may fall into debt.
4. Drunk Driving Can Take Lives
If it’s not your life that’s taken away, it may be that of the other driver you may have injured and killed because of drunk driving. If you lose your life to drunk driving, that is the end of it. It’s wasted life all because of irresponsible alcoholism.
If it’s the life of another individual taken, you will have to face the court. Just imagine the life-long consequences of a case like negligence or reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. You may face a life-long jail sentence.
In that case, you may have just destroyed your family’s life because of having to spend your whole life in jail. It’s one wrong decision that adversely affects your life forever. Your kids lose a parent, your spouse now has a broken marriage to deal with, and your parents have to live through having a child in prison because of a very bad choice made.
5. It May Lead To Life-Long Health Consequences
If death isn’t the consequence, you may also be at a higher risk of life-long health and physical impairment consequences brought about by accidents due to drunk driving. Surely you have heard of news reports about the fatal car or motor accidents that caused amputation, strokes, and paralysis.
Those life-long health consequences can make it harder for you to live a normal life. For those who are married and with children, you may miss out on so many of your kids’ activities and family activities just because of your physical impairment. That accident wouldn’t have happened if not for the mistake of drunk driving. So, think twice before you head out to your car while under the influence.
Conclusion
It’s an undisputed fact that drinking alcohol affects the ability of a person to stay within their senses. Your response time is slower, given how alcohol impairs your mental functions. Those who have risked drunk driving and had an accident in the past would know that it can result in serious consequences such as death, the worst of them all. The list above should prove the point to you to never even risk drunk driving. You can enjoy the night of drinking, but don’t let it adversely affect your life.
