The others are free to drink or not as they choose. Designated drivers have probably saved nearly 50,000 lives and spared many more thousands of people from suffering injury from drunk driving. About every nine out of 10 Americans who attend social events where alcohol is served would like to see designated drivers used. The number of people using or being a designated driver has increased dramatically over time. Each year over 73,000,000 Americans either serve as a designated driver or are driven home by one (Hanson, 2003). A designated driver helps friends and family; avoid embarrassment, keep their drivers licenses, avoid fines, stay out of jail, and prevent senseless injury and death. In addition to being or using a designated driver, you can save lives by taking car keys from intoxicated people to prevent them from being drunk drivers. As the saying goes, "friends don't let friends drive drunk." .
A person can help reduce drunk driving by reporting drunk drivers. If someone sees a driver doing these things, weaving, driving with windows rolled down in cold weather, passing dangerously, straddling the center line, making wide turns, driving slowly, tailgating, or forgetting to turn on headlights, report the car along with its description and location to the police or sheriff. The driver may be intoxicated and shouldn't be on the road. Although thousands of lives are saved each year by both designated drivers and those who don't let friends or others drive drunk, many more are needlessly lost (Hanson, 2003).
People should also take certain precautions to help protect themselves against drunk drivers. Everyone should always use a safety seat belt and drive defensively. No one should ever ride with someone that has had too much to drink. Remember, it is usually themselves and their passengers who are harmed by drunk drivers. The risk of collision for high BAC drivers is several hundred times higher than for a non-drinking driver (Hanson, 2003).
