Keep Your Friends from Driving Drunk

It's your responsibility to stop yourself from driving drunk.

Unfortunately sometimes that line becomes blurred between "drunk" and "buzzed" and all of a sudden you find yourself with wondering what to do when your intoxicated friend's about to get in their car. The situation can be even more tricky if you yourself have been drinking as well.

All of a sudden it's your responsibility to prevent a DUI. It's awkward. It's tense. It can send a ripple effect through your friendship long after the night's come and gone. So, what do you do when you know a friend or loved one is about to make one of the worst decisions of all, driving under the influence?

Here are eight solid suggestions that can help keep your friend out of jail and the public out of harm's way. 

1. Start with an honest convo.

We get it: you feel like a goody-two-shoes telling your friend they're too drunk to drive...and what about when they inevitably reply that they're fine, they've only had two beers? The conversation is likely just a first step during which you can gauge the level of intoxication of your friend and make some quick decisions about what happens next. Be calm, speak softly, and only make factual statements.

2. Try and find a ride.

The easiest remedy to a friend driving drunk is finding them a way home. Offer to call a cab, Lyft, or drive them home yourself (if you're sober) and see what you get as a response. It's likely your friend will complain about leaving their car overnight - offer to bring them back in the morning to get it or explain the price difference between getting towed (about $150) and getting a DUI (upwards of $10,000.)

3. Suggest a slumber party.

If your friend's getting irritable, subtly suggest you're not done hanging out and ask them to come over to your place to continue the party. If you can get them to agree by offering food, a good movie, or even the chance of talking to your cute roommate you may be able to get the drunken party to your house where they can sleep off the alcohol and wake sober.

4. Grab those keys.

No one wants it to get to this point but it's imperative to keep an intoxicated loved one off of the street. Forget the odds of them getting pulled over: Any given crash could cost them their life or someone else's and land them in jail for decades. Whether you have to sneak them out of their purse or trick them into handing the keys over so you can "help them find their car," don't give them back under any circumstances.

5. Talk to the bar.

In some cases bars have emergency plans set up for situations like these. The bar manager doesn't want a drunk patron to hurt anyone after leaving their establishment so they may be willing to pay for a cab or let them leave their car behind the bar all night. It can't hurt to bring in a neutral party to help alleviate some of the subjectivity of the situation.

6. Call the police.

Ughhhh. We know. No one wants to call the cops on their own friend or family member. But if it means the difference between saving their life (or someone else's) and keeping them safe it's the absolute right thing to do. And don't worry - the police won't automatically arrest your friend unless they're sitting in the driver's seat of their car. They may just be able to talk them down, scare some sense into them, and get them into a cab. If this issue is something your friend struggles with all too often then bringing in the police - on your own terms - is the smartest thing to do.

 

DUIs are awful. They're incredibly expensive, horribly inconveniet, and the repurcussions such as fines and DUI school last for months afterwards. Of course, all that pales in comparison to the some 16,000 people who are killed in drunk driving crashes each and every year; that's one every half hour. 

If you really care about your friend and they really care about you then it's up to you to do the right thing. They may fight it, be mad at you, or resent your confidence but in time there's no doubt they'll thank you for it.