College Info on Drunk Driving
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009Dear Babs,
I am going to University in the fall, and I’m wondering if I should take my car with me? I’ll be living in upstate New York while I attend St. Lawrence college, and getting around to can be a drag. However, I don’t want to get stuck DDing everyone. I know campuses have their own security-if I only have a couple, will I still get in trouble with the real police?
-Dubious Driver
Dear DD,
A thousand times: YES!! You can get in trouble with the “real” police. Campus Security is in charge of monitoring theft and keeping watch over students’ personal safety-they are not an alternative to the law. If you are pulled over by a cop, you will not get a lighter “sentence” with campus security.
It’s important to know that even a few drinks will impair your judgement and your reaction time. Each state has the right to set the legal-limit of blood-alcohol content (BAC) and the mandatory sentence for exceeding said limit while operating a motor vehicle. According to New York DWI, if you are under the age of 21 and caught driving-while-influenced, a blood-alcohol level of just .02% results in an automatic licence suspension of 90 days. If you are a 140 lb female, that means that you would only need ONE beer in two hours to be over the legal limit. Once you hit the legal drinking age of 21, the legally permissible BAC (jumps up to .08%. That is still only four beers in three hours-hardly unheard of for a Friday night on campus.
Driving drunk endangers lives. Over 1,700 student deaths are caused each year by college students driving under the influence, and over 600,000 injuries. If you are lucky and no one is injured, you can still lose your licence, have a criminal record, and expect to pay astronomical insurance fees each month. If you feel that you need a car on campus for convenience sake, by all means, bring it along. But don’t drive drunk thinking you will be treated less harshly for your youth. If you don’t want to be the DD (designated sober driver) at every party, make a no party driving rule for yourself. Explain to your friends that you want to have fun too, and that you’d be happy to split a cab.
Good Luck! (And Stay Safe!!)
-Babs
