Why do people continue to drive while intoxicated?
Anyone you ask will tell you that driving while intoxicated is dangerous. Even those who like to drink have heard about the fatality statistics and know that it raises risks on the road. So why do people keep doing it?
Some feel embarrassed. They didn’t mean to get drunk and they don’t want to call a friend or a significant other for a ride. They decide to chance it, vowing to drive carefully.
Others don’t actually think they’re too drunk to drive. They may honestly believe it’s not a problem and feel surprised if they’re pulled over and they blow over the legal limit.
Now, when people are very drunk, they may simply not make rational choices. Some people wake up the next morning realizing what a mistake they made and feeling horrified that they got behind the wheel. At the time, though, they thought everything would be all right.
For many, though, they just feel confident in their own abilities. Maybe they’ve driven while they were intoxicated before. They think they won’t have a problem and they trust themselves to drive safely. They may even know that they’re over 0.08 in blood alcohol concentration, but they feel like they can safely drive even past that point.
These are just four of the main reasons that drunk driving still happens, but it contributes to thousands upon thousands of Drinking and driving,” accessed March 28, 2017