Back To School Safety Tips For Drinking and Driving

Drinking and driving tips for student’s heading back to College this fall.

Now that the month of August is among us, that means that summer is slowly coming to a close and back to school season is approaching quickly. While for many people, this may seem like an upsetting end to summer freedom and relaxing, for those who are in college, the end of summer means many other things.

There are many fun reasons to get excited about the first couple weeks back at college: Getting to see all of your friends who went home for summer, celebrating Welcome Week and Rush Week during all-night drinking sessions with your classmates, and lots and lots of fun parties to try and fit in between classes.

While all of these activities make the first couple weeks back at school some of the most enjoyable, they can also be the most dangerous if you are not careful about your activities.

The Problem

The amount of drinking done by college students has always been a major health problem in the United States. For instance, in a recent study conducted by Harvard professors , it was found that nearly 29% of college students drove after consuming any amount of alcohol, and about 10.9% drove after consuming five or more drinks.

In another study done by the Task Force on College Drinking, nearly 2,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 died from alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle crashes, in 2009 alone.

Many people believe that the reason teens and college students are so over-represented in drunk driving accidents is because they tend to be relatively inexperienced drives and inexperienced consumers of alcohol. Combine both of these factors under the pressure to drink from their classmates and it’s easy to understand why there is such a concern for college drinking.

The Solution

The most obvious option, and often the most unrealistic, for preventing dangerous drinking incidents such as drunk driving accidents among college students is to not drink at all. However, that is an option that is rarely considered by 18 to 24-year-olds who are leaving home for the first time and experiencing all that college life has to offer. Instead, there are several tips that all college students should remember when heading off to school this fall:

• Even a single drink can dramatically increase the chances of a drunk driving accident among inexperienced drinkers.
• Drunk drivers have slowed reaction time and impaired judgment. Therefore, even if you feel fine, that may not actually be the case.
• Take turns playing the role of designated driver with your friends so that each night you can get home safely.
• Keep local campus taxi numbers in your phone so that you can call for a ride home if you need one.
• Know your alcohol limit and stick to it.

However, if you do happen to get pulled over and charged with drinking and driving when you are off at college, make sure that you contact an experienced DWI lawyer to help handle your case. As a college student, it is likely that you already have enough to worry about without adding a drinking and driving charge onto your record. Seeking out the help of a professional will ensure that your DWI is handled properly and you can go back to life as normal.

Image: Source

Statistics: Harvard, Task Force