Tag Archives: drinking

Think Before you Drink

2 million. The number of drunk drivers at any given time. Most people enjoy a little drink from time to time and there is nothing wrong with this. But, did you know that almost one in seven of all deaths on the road involve drivers who are over the current legal limit? The more you drink, the higher the risk to be involved in a road accident. Alcohol influences your driving even if it’s ingested in small quantities.  In fact, if you drink and drive (with a blood alcohol level over 80mg per 100ml) you are three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a sober driver. There are things people miss on the road because they are not paying full attention, there are stop signs missed causing accidents, and many drivers are unlikely to be able to act quickly in intense situations such as swerving to avoid a collision. Alcohol is also a depressant, which can cause drowsiness, leading to higher risk for accidents. If people want to avoid accidents, it looks like people have to choose: drinking or driving?!

MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is an association to raise awareness about drunk driving.  “The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.” They stress that people should always take caution when on the road because many lives can be risked. Many people help continue this organization by raising fundraisers and just spreading the word. My uncle was a victim of a drunk driver, making it even more of a reason that I should spread awareness.

~Saige Bingman

Emerged Unscathed

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2012/05/23/li-bc-120523-cp-rail-locomotive.jpg

A man in Alberta, British Columbia was found underneath the 26th car of a train on May 23rd, 2012. The man was intoxicated and passed out on the train tracks while a train came around the corner. The engineer blew the train whistle, but it didn’t wake the man up. In a hurry, the engineer slammed on the brakes in hopes to stop the train from running over the fellow, however in mere seconds, the front of the train was already over him. After the 25th cart, the train had stopped and after the personnel had awaken the sleeping beauty, “He got up, grabbed his beer, and was on his way.”—Sgt. Dave Dubnyk,.  The man stumbled to a nearby campground where he was taken by the police and put in a detachment holding cell to sober up.

This man, in my opinion, was extremely lucky and if he had not woken up after the train had stopped, then it would have been bye-bye for him. This just shows how dangerous drinking is as he could have died or been severely injured. I hope people will come to their senses soon about drinking alcoholic beverages too much. What I would like to know is: where were the train tracks? How did he get to them? How did the personnel get the man out from under the train? Why did they let the man wander off after that incident? All I can think of is, “I hope that this doesn’t happen again . . .” and I am pretty sure that no one else would want to try their luck with drinking after they have read the article. What if that was you? What would you do after that?

~Cameron O’Connor