In cased you missed it, a crash took place early Friday morning on Interstate 75 in Clayton County. It was a crash unlike any I have ever seen in my 16-plus years reporting on traffic here in Atlanta. The crash involved a pedestrian and seven vehicles. According to Clayton County police, five of the seven drivers were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Yes, you read that correctly, five of the seven drivers allegedly had been drinking. That number scares me and it should scare you.
As someone who drives to work at 4 a.m., I’m used to seeing the occasional drunk driver. When I see someone driving erratically, I automatically call the police. The details of Friday’s crash opened my eyes to just how big a problem drunk drivers are and continue to be. Despite increased data on the subject, despite constant warnings from law enforcement agencies, despite death after death after death caused by drunk drivers, it continues to be a serious and dangerous issue.
Thankfully, I’ve never lost anyone to a drunk driver, but I know enough people who have. The simple fact is that these deaths are preventable. We have the technology right now to keep drunk drivers off our roadways.
The simple, logical, solution to end the epidemic of drunk driving is to install alcohol detection devices on all automobiles in the United States. Be it through breathalyzer or new skin sensor technology, it is time to make these devices mandatory. If you aren’t sober, your car won’t start. That’s it.
I have no issue with anyone drinking. I don’t have an issue with anyone drinking to excess. I do have a problem however, with someone that is impaired by alcohol, getting behind the wheel and endangering lives.
When someone is drunk, their judgment is impaired. We all know this and we’ve all seen this happen to varying degrees.
Someone might start the night thinking “There is no way I am going to drink and drive tonight,” but by the end of the night, with enough alcohol in their system, they might not have the capability to comprehend their actions. With mandatory detection devices on all automobiles, no matter how impaired a person’s judgement is, they will not be able to start their car. It takes that option off the table.
From there the intoxicated individual can decide to sleep it off, find another ride home, or take a taxi. The detection device will literally prevent them from driving drunk.
Friday’s crash just highlighted what is now a decades-old problem. People continue to drink and drive. The only thing that is going to prevent them from doing so, is making sure they can’t get their cars on the road. Enough is enough. We’ve lost too many lives. It’s time to make alcohol detection devices standard in all vehicles.
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