What happens after a party?

Here are four friends. A, B, C and Kad. Kad loves to party. He loves to go out, drink, and dance with his friends every weekend. He is a nice guy. He picks up his friends every Saturday when they go out and drops them back home.

They always have a fun time. Everyone enjoys Kad’s company a lot.

When the party ends, A, B and C always try to convince Kad to get a cab. Kad, however, prefers to drive back.

And fortunately, he always gets them back safe and sound.

The fun continues every Saturday night.

One day, on the way back Kad hits a tree. He thinks to himself that he probably had a lot to drink today and he would be more careful the next time. Luckily, no one gets injured in the accident.

A few weekends later, Kad hits a car. No one gets hurt. But the police are involved and the four friends are fined for drunk driving. Kad thinks to himself (yet again) that he probably drank a lot.

After the accident, the four friends do not party for a few weeks. Everything gets back to normal in a few weeks time and they start going out on weekends again. Kad still drives them to the club. He tries to have fewer drinks so he can drive back. One day the worst happens….

Kad hits a pedestrian and the pedestrian gets badly injured. When he gets out of the car, he sees the pedestrian lying in a pool of blood. 

Would Kad ever be able to forgive himself for this?

This is just one sad anecdote out of the prolific numbers out there. Actual statistics show the number of innocent lives that are lost on our streets every year. Around 10,000 people lose their lives due to drunk driving in the USA every year. In Australia, around 40 people lose their lives every year for the same reason. In India, around 50,000 vehicles are involved in road accidents due to alcohol intake every year, and, as we know, the problem is likely much bigger than these numbers.  

In the USA, the legal limit to drive a motor vehicle is blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% per 100ml blood. In Australia, the legal limit is 0.05% BAC. In India, it is set at 0.03%. You can legally drive below these limits but experiments have shown that brain impairment begins at as low as 0.02% BAC (0.02% BAC is around 2 beers!!). Studies show that decline in visual functions and the ability to multitask start at this level. 

Experiments have also shown that at 0.08% BAC (four beers), a driver is 11 times more likely than a non-drinking driver to be involved in an accident. At 0.10% BAC, the likelihood of being in an accident is 48 times higher than an abstainer. And these results can change depending upon a person’s weight, what they have eaten, their gender, any medications they are on and many other things. The chances of being in an accident rise steadily as the number of drinks increases. The problem arises when your brain tries to convince you that you are not too drunk.

The human brain is very deceptive and manipulative. You might remember the global blue/black, white/golden dress phenomenon from a few years ago. The phenomena revealed how the human brain perceives things. Though related to visual science, it does provide some understanding of how the human brain functions. Now imagine it under the influence of alcohol. When you are drunk, when your brain functions are impaired, your brain will definitely not be in the right state to process information. It will lie and convince you that you are sober while you are super intoxicated. DO NOT believe it!

The penalties for drunk driving are fines, imprisonment, and/or licence cancellation. At some places in India, the laws are stumbling and it is difficult to administer justice. The administration of law does warrant considerable improvement but until that is done, why don’t we play good Samaritans and do our part right? 

Driving under the influence of alcohol (or any other drug for that matter) and putting yourself at risk is one thing, putting others at risk takes it to a whole another level of ethical awfulness. It is horrific to put someone else’s life at risk for your entertainment or melancholy. 

Do you really want to be that person who accidentally hurts your friends/ injures someone or worst of all, kills someone? You do not want that on your head or your friend’s head. What about the jail time and hefty fines? Surely, that’s a no as well. So, before you go out for a party, get a designated driver. If you can’t find one, get a cab.  

When you look at the cost of a cab versus the cost of someone’s life, surely the argument to get a cab holds water. 

Don’t be a Kad and don’t let your friends be one either!

Next time, when you go out to a party, why not call a cab and consider the cost as another drink you had at the party?