Teen drivers confronted by consequences of drunk driving
It feels like every year brings with it news of teenagers losing their lives on Wisconsin highways. Far too often, these losses result from reckless driving, poor safety measures, or, most significantly, intoxicants. To take the pulse of West student drivers, Index recently polled the student body to assess driving habits.
Of the 255 people who responded to the survey, 69.8% knew someone who has driven while intoxicated while 7.8% of people have themselves driven drunk. 35% of respondents have made the mistake of riding in a car where the driver was intoxicated, and 7.8% of people have been in an accident involving someone driving while impaired.
For senior Isabella Sylvia, these alarming statistics reveal the underlying issue.
“Underage drinking is the problem, drunk driving is a consequence,” she said. “It has to be tackled in order to lower the number of drunk drivers.”
Targeting the issue requires looking beyond it. Many students, including junior Joshua Rosenberg, understand that underage drinking often results from unhealthy coping habits.
“Some kids struggle with many things,” he said. “They think that drinking will get rid of their problems.”
Principal Erin Kohl believes the issue is larger than Winnebago county and thinks Wisconsinite values should be reevaluated as a whole.
“We live in a state where drinking is celebrated and glorified and that does a disservice to our youth,” she said.
Sylvia agrees, noting that parents immersed in Wisconsinite culture can sometimes be part of the problem.
“I know many parents who will allow their children to drink regardless of if they are around or not,” she said. “There are also shows that can encourage the image of teen drug and alcohol use while driving.”
Rosenberg sees the frequency of driving under the influence and blames it on students using more substances than just alcohol. In turn, Rosenberg believes the grave consequences that it can have exponentially increase and affect even more students.
“Drunk driving is very common, I see many kids driving like idiots, doing drugs, and drinking alcohol,” he said. “It is very dangerous; there have been so many accidents where kids get hurt or killed.”
Rosenberg feels that students need to have more knowledge on the effect of drinking on their bodies and health.
“We need to have awareness,” he said. “People need to be shown the facts of what drinking can do to you and the effects that it can have on you.”
Sylvia agrees with this idea and thinks that the criminalization and villainizing of students who depend on drinking for support needs to be reversed in order to target the problem.
“We need more outreach programs to offer support to students who drink,” she said. “There also needs to be less consequences if someone admits to drunk driving. Instead, adults should focus on helping because it’s a vulnerable moment and if someone is asking for help, they are already taking the first step to have one less drunk driver on the road and become sober.”
Kohl acknowledges that education has a role in combating drunk driving and believes West has already implemented a lot of education against underage drinking
“Awareness and education is key,” she said. “I know that freshmen talk about drunk driving in their health classes and students who take Driver’s Education discuss that as well.”
However, Kohl believes that those lessons may fall on deaf ears if the talk of drinking issues don’t go beyond the four walls of this school.
“This is also a community issue,” she said. “It isn’t just the school’s responsibility to teach, families should talk about this as well.”
While directly ending underage drinking is always the goal, Kohl also finds it important to talk about having a safe way to handle these scenarios.
“We encourage high school students to not drink at all,” she said. “But if you are going to drink, have a plan and have a safe adult that you can reach out to. This way, you aren’t putting yourself in a situation where you are getting behind the wheel drunk.”
Ultimately, Kohl thinks that as much as adults can try to mend the issue, it is up to the youth to put an end to drunk driving.
“As a peer group, kids need to encourage each other to not drink and drive,” she said. “What is going to cause the most change is the students.”
by Fareeha Ahmad
Published February 21, 2023
Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue V