Drinking while intoxicated is an age-old problem around the world. Since alcohol was first consumed, people have been making the decision to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, risking, and sometimes even destroying, lives in the process.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation has taken on the fight to prevent DWI’s across the state. The goal is to help reduce, and hopefully prevent, the number of drunk-driving related accidents and fatalities across the state.
Their continued efforts are to promote designated drivers, safe rides and responsible consumption to help avoid situations like the one Gordon House, a New Mexico native, found himself in.
He was, at the time, a 32 year old criminal justice graduate who was working with troubled Native American teenagers.
On Christmas Eve in 1992, he spent the day shopping and drinking in Albuquerque. He had consumed, according to a testimony from him, nearly 8 beers, before getting into his red pickup and driving down I-40.
His westbound truck ended up in the eastbound lane, facing oncoming traffic going the wrong direction.
House drove 12 miles like this, at speeds of up to 90 mph, before his truck collided head-on with a car, with Paul and Melanie Cravens and their 3 daughters all under the age of 9.
When House’s truck struck the Craven’s vehicle, Paul was seriously injured, and Melanie and her 3 daughters were killed.
House was convicted later of vehicular homicide.
This story is just one of many in the state, where lives have been forever altered because of the decision to drive after consuming alcohol.
According to the CDC, 1 in 3 traffic deaths involve a drunk driver. These are sobering facts that it’s a very real issue in our state.
In a 9 year period, there were 1.254 deaths in New Mexico related to a drunk driver, most of which were younger than 34 years of age.
Thankfully, the ENDWI campaign, and drunk driving laws which have allowed for sobriety checkpoints, ignition interlocks, etc. have lowered the number of people choosing to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.
The legal limit is 0.08% which, for an individual of roughly 150 lbs, is no more than 3 beers. Consuming anything more than that would be considered driving while intoxicated.
Last year, New Mexico was ranked 4th in the nation for impaired driving fatalities.
The safest thing to do after consuming any alcohol is to just have someone else drive. It’s a simple fix to a continuing problem.
If you drink, don’t drive.
Lieutenant Daniel Clark of the Farmington Sheriff’s Office said, “The problem is, a majority of intoxicated drivers drive drunk many times before they ever get caught. It’s definitely a problem because if we are only getting 30 [DWI arrests per month], there are significantly more out on the road. If people are trying to find the acceptable level (of intoxication), it’s the wrong train of thought.”
There is a common misconception that water or food can help sober a drinker prior to driving. Only time can cause sobriety enough for an individual to drive legally.
The fact is, if you’ve consumed alcohol, there is no question that you should have someone else drive. Don’t risk the lives of others, or your own, for a couple drinks.
It’s just not worth it. End DWI. Let’s take New Mexico off that map entirely!
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