With the holiday season rapidly approaching talk around town becomes focused on Christmas and New Year’s parties. Through friends, family, and the media comes the constant reminder of drinking and driving and how deadly it is. We are cautioned of increased law enforcement and roadblocks and it is recommended that we chose designated drivers, or use taxicabs if we plan on traveling while under the influence of alcohol. Due to past tragic accidents involving alcohol and motor vehicles during the holiday season, most of us heed the warnings and are careful while driving during this time. We drive more defensively and many of us choose to stay in the safety of our homes on nights like New Years Eve when we know there is the increased possibility of encountering a drunk driver.
There is no denying that driving a car while under the influence is extremely dangerous. Drivers not only put themselves at risk, but also those that they share the roadways with. Imagine how dangerous it would be if we added obstacles to the roadways for drivers to have to maneuver around while driving. Then, what if we took away the need to have a driver’s license in order to drive a car? Heck we may as well take away the centerlines in the road as well as the road signs and traffic signals. While we are at it lets reduce the number of law enforcement officials patrolling the area. Now even the sober drivers would have trouble, add alcohol to the mix and we are talking about an extremely dangerous environment for even the most experienced to travel in.
The fact of the matter is one such environment already exists, our waterways. While boat traffic is slow during this time of the year, spring and summer will bring forth a strong surge of boaters and if history repeats itself there will be even more boaters using the waterways than last year. Unfortunately with this increase in recreational boaters also comes an increase in boat related accidents. One of the leading causes of these accidents is alcohol, and as a matter of fact one third o