Drunk Driving: Why People Drive Impaired
Welcome to another blog by Johnson Law Office, P.C. Today I will address a topic that is thought-provoking, namely, “Why do people drive drunk or impaired from either alcohol, THC, or other drugs?” The short answer is that they choose to do so. That is too obvious, but it is a starting point. Having chosen to be impaired by alcohol, marijuana (THC), or other drugs, the next decision is worse than the first–they decide to drive their vehicle. Perhaps the thinking is, “I’ll be fine, I just had a couple of beers. Well, maybe it was three, or was it four? Anyway, I’ll be fine.” They get behind the wheel of their car and start driving, and after a short while, they realize that they are not so fine. “I should have called Uber!” might be the last statement the impaired driver makes just before he sees the police lights in his rear-view mirror.
Getting back to the question, “Why do people drive drunk?”, the deeper answer is that the person chose to get impaired. And that is the problem right there. The “band-aid” answer is to say that getting impaired is not the problem until the person drives their vehicle, but that thinking is just wrong. Judgment is the first thing affected by alcohol. You could make the argument that impairment by THC quickly affects one’s judgment as well. Because one’s judgment is affected by alcohol and THC, the person thinks that they are okay to drive, that they do not need to call a taxi or Uber. Before they began drinking or consuming THC that day or night, they might have thought that they would call for a taxi/Uber if they would become impaired. But now, after they have become impaired, judgment is gone, and they neglect to call a taxi or Uber, and choose to drive. Driving impaired is playing Russian Roulette–it is just a matter of time before you will get pulled over and get hit for a DUI (OVWI) or if you prefer the term drunk driving.
It will be the topic of another blog to deal with the deeper reasons of why people become impaired in the first place, but for now, it is enough to say that choosing to get impaired in the first place is not harmless, lacks wisdom, and is a bad choice at so many levels.
If you find yourself in a situation where you were caught driving impaired by either alcohol, THC/marijuana, or other drugs, we at Johnson Law Office, P.C. will provide you the criminal defense that you need to deal with all issues of a DUI (OVWI) and related charges. Give us a call today at 317.536.6268.