In honor of Impaired Driving Prevention Month, Follow Our Courts looks to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, whose motto is “Impaired driving ends here.”
If you are with someone who is trying to drive, and you believe they are impaired, you can do the following, they advise:
- Be as non-confrontational as possible.
- Suggest alternate ways of getting to their destination—a cab, rideshare, a sober driver, or public transportation.
- Remember that the person you are talking to is impaired—talk a bit more slowly and explain things more fully than if you were speaking to a sober person.
- Explain that you don’t want them to drive because you care and you don’t want them to hurt themselves or others.
- Suggest that they sleep over.
- Enlist a friend to help you or to act as moral support—it’s more difficult to say “no” to two (or three or four) people than one.
- If possible, ask friends who plan to drink to give up their keys before they start drinking.
- If all else fails, call law enforcement. It’s better to have a friend arrested than injured or killed.
For more tips on what can be done to prevent someone from driving under the influence, download their brochure or call their 24/7 Victim Help Line: 877.MADD.HELP (1-877-623-3435).
