Incident That Changed My Life

We have all heard about the dangers of drinking and driving. Most of us have read the horror stories about what happens when a person drives under the influence of alcohol. I too was amongst those who had heard and read about these issues until the incident that I am about to narrate, changed my life.

It was New Years Eve and we, as a group of friends were partying at one of our friend’s place to usher in the New Year. It was a joyous occasion with alcohol flowing freely. By the time it was New Year, most of my friends were heavily under the influence of alcohol. Many of them decided to stay back since they did not want to drive the long way home. But one couple against better judgment decided to drive back home. My friend had a lot of confidence in his skills as a driver and was sure that the alcohol he had consumed would not affect his driving skills. They left and the rest of us bid them good-bye.

It was on day one of the New Year that we heard the terrible news of our friends’ death. Their car crashed against a truck that was parked, the speed and the impact proved fatal to the passengers in the car. That was the day I decided that I would become an active campaigner against driving under the influence of alcohol. On hindsight I was always nagged by the thought that if only we had better awareness regarding the danger of driving under the influence of alcohol and its serious repercussions would we have been insistent and seen to it that my friend never took to the wheel that night and we could be having the pleasure of their company even today. Many people talk about life changing experiences and how it affects them. I think that my life has changed for the better because of this incident. I’m glad that I have used this negative incident to better my life and to try and change the future of many irresponsible adults.