WHAT COST, THAT DRINK?

WHAT COST, THAT DRINK?
                                 
 By John Del Santo
 
We shop for a good deal on a bike, search for a good mechanic who does reasonably priced repairs, and compare prices on accessories and gasoline.  Saving a buck can be tough these days.  Being cost conscious should also make us concerned about that car waiting to make a left turn at the next intersection.  If the driver has been drinking, he or she could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars…or cost your family way more than that to pay off your funeral expenses… and even way more than that for your family to support themselves for the next forever without you around.  That person who has been drinking and jumps in the car or on the bike has their own expenses to be concerned about.  They can be arrested for a DUI/DWI after only four drinks.  The average DUI arrest will end up costing about fifteen thousand dollars before it’s over, and cause tons of grief to the family and friends.  If they cause a collision while they have been drinking, they may have to live forever with the memory of the kid whose death they caused because of a couple of brews or some nice table wine at dinner.
 
If someone has a couple of drinks, that alcohol should theoretically be out of their system in a couple of hours.  Four drinks, four hours.  That’s how the average body processes alcohol.  Tests have shown that only two drinks causes from 35% to 50% longer reaction time to an emergency situation… not to count longer perception time and the possible inability to make the correct decision on what action should be taken. 
 
The National Safety Council reviews arrest records and estimates that on any given day, one out of every fifty drivers around you is drunk… that number changes to one in every ten drivers around you on Friday and Saturday nights!  Is that the one approaching you at the next intersection?  In half of all single-vehicle motorcycle accident fatalities, the rider had been drinking, and alcohol is involved in half of all motor vehicle fatalities.  Even if the pedestrian down the block looks directly at you, don’t trust them to make the correct decision; Of all the adult pedestrians killed by cars every year in this country, forty percent of the pedestrians were drunk at the time they were killed!  And twenty five percent of the adult bicyclists were drunk when they were hit by other vehicles and killed.
 
So be careful out there!  Hey, we’re adults… Drink what you want, but ride sober, and think defensively so that you’re not trusting anyone  around you to make the right move.  Ride Safe,  Ride Sober,  and Ride Smart.
 
This article is dedicated to the memory of Jim Mitchell.

John Del Santo