Friends don't let friends get away with drink driving

Not going to lie, this blog post was really difficult to write and I'm nervous about your response. After such a positive reaction to my last post - over 1000 views of the initial Facebook post as well as the shares, likes, comments, and wonderful messages I have received, I have been overwhelmed and humbled by your support towards such an important issue. It's been such a good feeling to get my voice and my message out there…however, you guys sure know how to put pressure on a girl!

Such was the positive reaction to my last post, I have decided to continue writing mainly editorial/ opinion style pieces on Laurables, as well as travel posts should I be fortunate enough to go away anywhere. Opinion pieces are what I love, and based on the reaction to my #YesAllWomen post, they're my strength as well. So if you're looking for any lifestyle posts, or the odd post about beauty and fashion, I have shifted them to my other (less loved) blog - Laura Robin. Have a read here if you would like.

I don't think today's topic is going to be as popular or looked upon as favourably as my #YesAllWomen post, because it's not something that has as much of an obvious stance that the majority of people agree with. This is something that many people are guilty of, and an act that people don't consider dangerous when done in moderation. I'm talking about drink driving, however, more specifically, the actions that you can and should take to protect you and your friends from idiotic mistakes.

In 2012, alcohol was a factor in 19% of crashes attended by police in Western Australia. While that doesn't sound like a huge percentage, these crashes often occurred at high speeds, with serious injury or death frequently being the result. 33% of drink drivers involved in fatal accidents are between 17 and 24, so this is obviously a pretty serious issue for our age group.

Drink driving is horrific because it is so avoidable. Realistically, people do not have an excuse for why they have been caught over the limit. This is especially true for P platers, because to have no alcohol in your system means you can't have a single drink - not a drop, nada, nil. So just don't. If you want to drink at all, and you're a provisional driver; or if you want to drink a significant amount when you are off your P plates, go out and embrace that (no judgement here) - just don't drive home.

The reason we're only allowed a 0.05 blood alcohol content is because any higher than this impairs our driving, making it more likely that we will cause an accident. This might be a one car accident involving a tree, or a pile up that occurs because we drifted onto the wrong side of the road. If you cause an accident and the police feel they have a reason to, they will breathalize you. It would be devastating to be driving home after having one drink (as a P plater) and causing a small accident - it might have happened regardless of your alcohol intake, yeah, but you'll still be charged with drink driving.

A mistake is only a mistake if you make it more than once.

People argue that "I'm allowed to have one, it's stupid that I can't have anything to drink because I'm on my Ps". "I can handle more, I'm only a little bit over". And while it might seem unrealistic to you, remember that you're still an inexperienced driver, and also that you probably are reasonably (hem) new to drinking as well. Plus, is it really worth having your hard earned license (and therefore freedom) taken away from you? Is one drink really worth it?

I'm going to give us a little credit here - I think it is only a minority of people who are stupid enough to drink drive. I have never been at a party and pressured into drinking once I say I'm driving - people respect this and drop the topic. I've heard of people hiding their friend's keys as well, to stop them getting in a car and driving home. We sort out designated drivers and take turns driving, we buy our friends soft drink and bring them water. Most of us are pretty clever.

However, it's the one or two people I have heard joking about being waved past a booze bus when they've been smashed. It's the "I'll be right". It's the minority who cause accidents. It's the minority who put one more drink above their lives, their passengers lives, and the lives of people they are sharing the road with. Think about Nate Dunbar, the 8 month old baby who was crushed to death after Melissa Waters, with a 0.17 blood alcohol level, crashed into his bedroom. She'll be in jail for three and a half years - it doesn't seem fair when a child has been stripped of his life, and a family has been left heartbroken.

This time you're a little bit over. Next time, because you didn't get caught and you managed to get home in one piece, you can have one more drink, right? And so on, until the disastrous happens. The thing is, if we get away with something once, we think we can get away with it again, and quite often we do. However, it's the time that you don't get away with drink driving, whether because you're stopped by a booze bus and you're horrendously over the limit and have your license stripped, or because you cause a serious crash, that you'll look back with the brilliance that hindsight seems to provide, with only one thought: "I was such an idiot".

On a little side note - it really bothers me when people post Facebook status updates warning people not to go near a certain road because of a random breath test. You're effectively giving them the license to avoid being caught for breaking the law. While it may be so your sober friends can avoid a long line, you're also telling people who are planning on having a few drinks that if they avoid Kwinana between these two roads, they'll get home without being caught. Just me sharing my opinion (what else is new?).

Real friends don't let friends get away with drink driving because real friends know that a few demerit points aren't as bad as causing a devastating accident. Real friends don't want their friends to live with life changing injuries that force them to be in a wheel chair, or brain damage that all but takes away their life. Real friends don't want their friends to deal with the endless guilt and possibly jail time that would be paralysing if their stupid and selfish actions resulted in someone else not being able to live their life fully.

Now, I don't think I'm preaching to a huge swarm of Justin Bieber fan girls/ guys here (...or am I?), however I thought his drink driving case would be a good example to use. After Bieber was booked for driving under the influence (including a smiling mug shot...need I say more?), #FreeBieber was trending on Twitter. His fans thought he deserved to get away scot free from this illegal act. If you think this is pretty stupid, I think you're pretty right. If Bieber had killed someone when he had been driving under the influence, he would have still been able to sing. He would have been able to walk, talk, run. They wouldn't have been able to do any of that ever again.

So next time you think about posting a Facebook status warning your friends of where a booze bus is, or you think about letting your friends drive home once they have consumed copious amounts of alcohol, think about #FreeBieber. Think about how stupid it is wanting someone to get away with an illegal act that could potentially kill someone, stopping them and others from learning their lesson... and then realise that that's exactly what you're about to do.

Next time you're going out, commit to taking a taxi or organising a lift with someone else if you don't think you're going to be able to refrain from having anything to drink (if you're on your Ps), or having more than what you're able to while being under the limit. If you're driving, take a friend home who looks like they've had too much to drink to drive themselves home safely. Call a taxi for them, share a taxi with them, do whatever it takes to stop them getting in that car.

A lot of people who read this are my friends, and I'm being a real friend by telling you to pull your heads in if you've been guilty of drink driving in the past, and reminding you not to consider it in the future. The figures are there, and real friends won't let their friends become a statistic.