Maldonado 1

Charlie Maldonado
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
28 April 2016
Driving Smart
Drinking and driving has destroyed thousands of families and ended the lives of many
others. A simple mistake by individuals can cost them their own lives and the lives of others
around them as well. According to the Bureau of Transportation Services, 13,365 deaths were
accounted for in 2010 involving a drunk driver (Chambers 2). Many feel that they are stable to
drive when they are obviously under the influence of alcohol and not in control of themselves,
the cause of drinking and driving is parties who fail to determine an individual as a designated
driver or a DD. Not having one individual to make sure no one leaves an event can cause several
dangerous drivers on the road at a time. Another reason so many people decide to drink and drive
is because of the poor effort to educate young men and women about the dangers and effects of
deciding to drink while under the influence. Young adults turning twenty one have no idea what
the life of a criminal is like, but could soon enough experience a life behind bars just from
making one mistake in one night. This social slaughtering can be overcome though, with a
process that starts in the high schools and universities, offering a mandatory day retreat to inform
and educate young adults about the issues faced after a drunk driving collision. Other methods
to slow down the drunk driving percentage are aimed to only tell people of the political
consequences of drinking and driving that include jail time and a suspension of their license. If a
mandatory day retreat were to be issued to students everywhere, it would include testimonials of
real people either living behind bars or living with their impaired life after being hit by a drunk

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driver. Because drinking and driving is so dangerous, the State of Texas should develop a student
day retreat to inform and educate young adults on the effects of drunk driving because it will
lower the rates of fatalities and injuries on the roads.
In order to establish this assembly retreat, it must be approved by every school district
council. A process such as this must start small and grow into a wide spread action that in a time,
all schools will see as a necessary part of the year. For example, an appointed committee
chairman would approach the Pearland Independent School District and explaining the purpose
of this weekend retreat, teaching and showing young adults the effects and consequences of
drinking and driving. The overall cost of the retreat must be provided by the school district
independently and authorizing a committee of retreat planners the full authority to carry out this
event. Instructing the school board staff that this retreat is a necessary informative time for the
teens about to enter the new world of college life, will encourage the school district to see this
opportunity as one that cannot be overturned. Explaining that on this retreat, students will get the
rare chance to interact and personally talk to citizens whose lifes have been completely changed
by a drunk driver or are still being affected by someones bad choices. Once approved by the
school district, the process will continue by spreading to other school districts around the area
and soon, be a necessary program for each high school around the state. Beginning with one
local area school district, the proposal of implementing a student weekend retreat informing
about the dangers of drunk driving can be approved and allowed within the calendar of the
school year.
Schools will now be able to begin planning the details of the retreat, choosing the keynote
speakers will be the base of what information is being put into the young adults minds. Entering

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the weekend located on a camp ground on a Friday, students will begin by being introduced to
the camp site and meeting their hosts and guest speakers for the retreat. Police officers,
imprisoned drunk drivers, injured drunken driving victims, and family members of deceased
victims will all be in attendance. These guests will play a huge role in the retreat experience.
They will offer guidance and advice to students, whether it is what to do in certain drinking
situations, or what not to do in drinking situations. Giving key testimonials throughout the
weekend, the youth will be able to apply the speakers stories to their daily lives by interacting
and relating back to the teens. Each of the four speakers will have a scheduled time to give their
keynote talks. By having different testimonial speakers, young adults are able to get the diverse
perspectives and consequences drunk driving can cause and inspire them to think before they
decide to make one decision that could affect their entire life. Without reserving time to
personally talk and relate to the young adults about this subject, can lead teens into jail time,
death, or the death of another innocent bystander. The keynote speakers are the foundation of the
entire retreat, offering their stories as proof that drinking and driving is and will continue to be a
life threatening decision that could easily be avoided.
The retreat will not only be informative through the talks, but also active and friendly to
the participants. As the candidates grow closer to their newly bonded friendships through
activities such as scavenger hunt games, rock climbing, zip lining, and many others due to the
location being in a retreat camp ground, they will form relationships that are founded on looking
out for one another throughout any situation they may be in. In forming these relationships,
participants learn to protect not only themselves, but those who they are close to, thinking about
others before they decide to drive in a situation they know they should not. Engaging the

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participants with a great get away from everyday life will open their minds to the impacting talks
they will receive from the guest speakers. Teens will leave the retreat with a plethora of stories,
personal talks, knowledge on how to avoid the situations of drunk driving or what do to in them
and memories with new friends that will help them form their lives around making sure their new
and current friends are safe, no matter the situation.
Other forms of engagement to inform teens about drunk driving have been executed
before, but fail to produce productive results, such as the Shattered Dreams productions. This
production involves student actors and actresses to show a stereotypical situation of drunk
driving and then portraying the students getting into a crash with gory effects. These movies,
although show the consequences of drunk driving in a cinematic and situational way, fail to
impact the lifes of students due to the fact that they are what they are, a fake movie. Students
are not fooled by the visuals, they know the students in the film, they know they are actors,
therefore, they cannot apply any of this to their life because it is a made up, fake situation.
Instead of giving students a one hour time period to sleep through a movie, the more affective
approach would be to give individuals real life situations of drunk driving right in front of them
and engage them with an active and informative weekend get-away. A retreat with real stories
with real people sharing them, to truly impact the decisions teens make every day of their life.
The Shattered Dreams films and movies, although strive towards the same goal as a weekend
retreat, is the less impactful and less effective approach in lowering the number of drunk drivers
off of the road.
Young drivers especially, need to be informed and educated about the power they hold
while deciding to drive drunk or not. Through this proposed idea, the achievement goal is very

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possible, not only will this event be one weekend, it will soon grow to every high school and
College University around the United States. Reaching out to every student who is faced with
peer pressure when it comes to drinking under age and making the wrong decision to drive while
under the influence. 13,365 deaths were accounted for in 2010 involving a drunk driver
(Chambers 2). Implementing a retreat to educate those about drunk driving will cause that
number to drop substantially by connecting with students on a personal and understanding level.
Drunk driving is a problem that we all face when we drive on the road, in order to make the
roads safer and more user friendly, young adults must be informed by others unfortunate stories
and current life situation. Drunk driving affects millions of people every year, those who make
the mistake of driving while under the influence surely regret their decision and want to take
back their choices which have led them to their current situation. A weekend informative retreat
will lower the overall number of drunk drivers across the state and if proposed before congress,
the nation. Giving students the opportunity to overcome peer pressure and make the appropriate
choices when they are in harmful situations.

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Works Cited
Borba, Michele, Dr. 8 Critical Tips on Teen Drinking and Driving. NBC News. N.p., 22 Apr.
2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Chambers, Chris. Bad Driving: What Are We Thinking? The Guardian. Guardian News and
Media, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Driving While Impaired Alcohol and Drugs. Driving While Impaired Alcohol and Drugs.
N.p., 26 June 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Kuzma, Cindy. This Is Your Body on Booze. Mens Health. Np., 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Apr.
2016.
Pari, Ursula. Shattered Dreams Program Home Realities of Drunken Drivers. KSAT. N.p., 06
Mar. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Pietrangelo, Ann. How Alcohol Affects the Body. Healthline. N.p., 30 June 2014. Web. 14 Apr.
2016.