Drinking and driving, and Generation Next

Courier News, Home News Tribune, myCentralJersey.com

By Paul A. Kaminsky

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, 26 percent of driving fatalities in the state of New Jersey involved an alcohol-impaired driver. Moreover, data has shown that approximately 35 percent of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities nationwide involved young adults.

The problem of drinking and driving among young adults today affects many more than just the individual having the drink. Unfortunately, law enforcement’s role often has been limited to responding to the aftermath of this tragic problem.

If these statistics are to be lowered, the problem will have to be addressed before the arrest is made or the automobile crash occurs.

A 2008 study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed the 18- to 25-year-old age group consistently has the highest prevalence of binge drinking and the highest rate of driving under the influence of all age groups.

In this age group, half are told you’re an adult but not legally allowed to drink, and the other half are told you’re legal, now just go ahead and drink. It is easy to see how the problem has developed.

Today’s society glamorizes the use of alcohol, so the "do as I say, not as I do" reasoning to stop underage drinking often falls on deaf ears. Combine this with relatively inexperienced drivers who are at an age of invincibility and the drinking-and-driving problem becomes magnified.

While the solution to the overall cause of the young adult drinking problem is more complex, instilling the mindset that you should not be getting behind a wheel of a vehicle when you’re impaired is within reach.

While consumption of alcohol is a personal choice that a young adult will likely make at some point in their life, drunken driving should not be a choice. Numerous organizations such as MADD, SADD, and government media campaigns have stressed the message, "Don’t Drink and Drive." For the 18- to 25-year-old age group, the problem has not been the message but where to spread it.

EmPoWER Somerset is taking the steps to spread that message through Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely (SIPS). Instilling the message that drinking and driving is unacceptable should be spread in the community, the workplace and the college campus. And when young adults feel the social pressure from their peers not to drink and drive, they listen.

With alcohol use leading to absenteeism, loss productivity, and accidents, employers also have a vested interest in educating their employees on the effects of alcohol and driving while impaired. The message should stress the immediate risks of drinking and driving and its consequences.

An arrest for driving under the influence is expensive, running into the thousands of dollars in fines and surcharges, not to mention the suspension of your driving privilege. But that pales in comparison if you are involved in an accident and injure or kill another driver, a passenger or yourself.

Part of becoming an adult involves personal responsibility. If you plan to have a drink, then have a designated driver. The time to think about your ride home is not after you’ve started drinking, but before you have that first drink.

Paul A. Kaminsky is chief of police in Hillsborough.