by Admin - Posted 3 months ago
It’s a Friday night in the summertime. You’ve just driven off the lot in your new car, and you can’t wait to show it off to your friends. At the party later that night, your whole crew is there to check out your new ride. You and your friends celebrate with some drinks, and pretty soon it seems like a good idea to hit up the club. Everyone piles into your new ride, and you can’t wait to show them the power under the hood. With the speakers thumping, you hit the street and bury the gas pedal. The whole crew is feeling it. To show off your skills, you take a turn a little faster than usual. All of the sudden you’re sliding to the right, and you crank the wheel to straighten out. You keep sliding the same way toward the guardrail, so you crank the wheel more and more to correct. And then comes the noise of your new ride slamming into the concrete median- metal crunching, glass breaking and the loud pop as the airbags go off. In just a few hours, you went from having a brand-new car to a twisted mess leaking oil on the side of the road. You’re lucky to be walking away from this one.
We’ve seen it happen time and time again. One bad decision leads to another, and before you know it, you’ve wrecked your ride. Not to mention put yourself and others in harm’s way.
Drugs and alcohol have a funny way of making bad choices seem not so bad at the time. They also impair your reaction time, vision and hearing, which are important to things to have in good shape if you’re behind the wheel.
In Ohio, you’re considered to be impaired if your blood alcohol concentration is 0.08% or above. That’s just 2-4 drinks in one hour for most people. And just a trace amount of drugs in your bloodstream, including marijuana, amphetamines and cocaine, will land you in the same place. The first offense for OVI (operating a vehicle under the influence) can result in up to six months in jail, over $1000 of fines and losing your license for three years. Additional OVI offenses, or first-time offenders with blood alcohol concentrations over .17% will result in even higher penalties and extended jail time. And none of that includes the penalties for causing a crash or injuries as a result of driving under the influence!
Straight up, drugs and alcohol don’t mix with driving. You worked hard to be approved for your vehicle and stay current on the payments. Don’t throw it all away with just a few bad choices. If you’re going to party, do it at home or go out with a sober driver. And if you make the mistake of getting intoxicated away from home without a sober driver, call an Uber or Lyft. Whatever the hired ride costs you will ALWAYS be less than the penalties of an OVI.
Remember, if you drive turnt, you get burnt.
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