My Mother's Story

When I had first gotten my license, I remember my mother always seemed worried and jittery about my driving. Although at the time I thought this was just because I was a new driver, I now know otherwise. Even before I had gotten my license, my mother had emphasized to me that I should not drink and drive. As a new driver, I had found it difficult enough to drive sober; I could not even think about how difficult it would be to drive under the influence of alcohol!
It was soon after I had gotten my license that my mom finally told me why she was always nervous when I was driving; she said that it was not only when I drove that she became nervous, but that she got nervous whenever anyone besides herself was driving. My mom was scared and I don't blame her. When my mother was seventeen years old, she, her brother (my Uncle Kenny), and two of their friends, Ann and Dan, were driving home from a party. My Uncle Kenny had been drinking at the party; taking into consideration his current heavy drinking habits, my uncle was probably feeling pretty good to say the least. Uncle Kenny lost control of his car and the car flipped over about five times- it is a wonder that any of them are living today. Uncle Kenny suffered from a concussion and had many bruises from the accident; my mom got off lucky- she got only a few bruises and had to have a skin graft on her face, but that was it. Ann was not as fortunate; in addition to her many bruises, she also broke her arm. The worst is still untold: Only fifteen years old, Dan, who was sitting in the back seat, died as a result of the accident.
My mother's story is not unique; in many accidents in which the driver is under the influence of alcohol, it is the passenger or driver of another vehicle, rather than the drunk driver, that is the victim of injury or death from a drinking and driving accident. In cases like these, although the drunk driver must suffer with the legal and emotional consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol, their careless behavior does not cost them their lives. An anonymous poem entitled "Death of an Innocent" expresses the plight of victims of those who cause drinking and driving accidents. According to Beth Hering, a writer for Charityguide.org, during the two minutes that it takes you to read the poem, another person will be injured in a drunk driving accident. Written in the perspective of a victim of a drunk driving accident, the poem, which is addressed to the victim's mother, is actually really sad. Read the poem at: http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/death-of-an-innocent.htm and try not to cry!
Through taking his own friend's life, you would think that Uncle Kenny would have learned his lesson about driving under the influence. However, I can name countless holidays in which he has driven home from my house under the influence, or shown up to my Grandmother's house buzzed. There are probably other people who are in the same position as my uncle that continue to drink and drive. Even if someone has been convicted for the crime, whose to say that serving time in prison will prevent drunk drivers from doing it again? Because, apparently, they were not careful enough to prevent the situation in the first place.