Every 85 seconds, someone is killed or injured in a drunk driving crash in the United States, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. While teen drivers are statistically less likely to drink and drive, their crash risk is substantially higher, says the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Media outlets continue to insist that teen drinking is at an all-time low, yet it continues to be prevalent in the social lives of many high schoolers, including at Lakeside. One Lakesider says that they can’t remember the last weekend they didn’t drink. While this is an issue in and of itself, the real problem — and the most profound safety issue — lies in drunk driving.
As upperclassmen, we have witnessed firsthand just how many Lakesiders choose to drive to and from parties while intoxicated. We believe our school community can do better.
Over Halloween weekend, we asked Lakesiders how they were getting home from multiple parties. A shocking number of students who had been drinking responded that they would be driving themselves home. One remarked, “I’m a better driver when drunk,” and another declared, “I get a parallel parking buff when I’m drunk.” A third justified, “when I’m sober, I use my phone, so I think [driving drunk] evens out.”
Upon first read, these anecdotes may seem silly, but the reality they reveal is frightening. While being drunk may make you feel invincible, Lakesiders are taking profound risks. According to research published in 2016 by the University of Michigan, at just a .15% blood alcohol content, drivers face substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving tasks, and visual and auditory information processing.
Sam Weiman, a Lakeside history teacher, expressed real shock at this problem, reflecting, “It seemed as though Lakesiders were too busy and overscheduled on weekends … my perception was that there were less social parties here than at other schools.” While party culture is common in high schools across the country, the drunk driving issue faced at Lakeside is more concerning. A student commented: “Our friends at other schools don’t drive drunk, so it seems like a bigger problem at Lakeside.”
We spoke with many upperclassmen to help better grasp students’ rationales behind drunk driving. One senior reflected, “I think that it happens when kids’ parents don’t want them to be drinking, so they drive to prove they aren’t drinking. I think the solution is for parents to be more accepting that high schoolers drink.” Echoing this sentiment, another student commented, “I know, personally, when I don’t drive places, my mom is instantly more suspicious that I will be drinking at those places, even when I don’t plan to.”
A different senior boy stated, “It’s especially normalized for guys too,” remarking on the gendered aspect to this issue.
Two more upperclassmen remarked, “It does end up being sort of like a logistical problem when it comes to parties. Obviously, parties will happen at one person’s house, and everybody has to get there somehow.” “Even if you’re like, ‘oh, my parents will give you a ride or something,’ [drunk drivers] are typically pretty adamant on driving. I know this isn’t great to say, but I feel like it probably won’t stop until someone either gets arrested or pulled over.”
This is particularly disturbing. Drunk driving is not an issue that can wait until someone gets arrested, has a serious accident, or worse; this is an issue that we as a community must tackle head-on, proactively. The choice to drive drunk is selfish and puts you, your friends, and everyone else on the road in danger. We must act urgently to end the drunk driving epidemic at Lakeside.
Four history teachers at Lakeside reflected that when they were growing up, they each had yearly assemblies against drunk driving. Ms. Knight-Vezina remembers presentations from survivors of drunk driving crashes, and Sam recalls her school going as far as having the fire department stage a drunk-driving crash scene, complete with an actual automobile — both ways to scare students out of driving under the influence. At Lakeside, other than a short lesson in 9th grade, there is no curriculum on drunk driving.
Our school takes many other issues seriously, from mental health and social-emotional well-being (embedded in 9th grade Human Development and supported by counseling staff) to sexual violence prevention (in our multi-session workshops each year). Drunk driving is real, prevalent, and entirely preventable. We believe it’s important to acknowledge that it is an issue at Lakeside, and look for creative solutions together — whether that means more educational workshops, rideshare vouchers, or something else entirely. It is imperative that students, parents, faculty and administrators give this issue the serious consideration it deserves before it’s too late.
