Spring Break
Have a safe Halloween
State Hornet Staff
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: Opinion
This Halloween, please look out for yourselves. Last year, 66 people died as a result of a legally drunk driver between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, according to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. The Hornet knows that reminding readers about the possibility of death or paralysis isn't sufficient to prevent someone from driving drunk.
However, we hope that reminding you how expensive a DUI can be might persuade you. Mother's Against Drunk Driving calculates the average cost of a 1st offense driving under the influence as costing between $7,000 and $11,000. MADD takes into account attorney fees, insurance costs and Driving/Alcohol Awareness School in its estimation. The calculations are based on an article from the Orange County Register in 1996. It's fair to assume that the average cost has gone up since then. Also, the estimate does not account for any damage or injury the drunk driver may have caused.
At any rate, The Hornet doesn't want to dampen your parties or get all Puritan in your drunken revelry. No one here cares if you have a bad trip on mushrooms or get obscene drawings on your face in permanent marker while you are passed out. We merely want all of our students, even if they don't take the time to read our brilliance, to come back in one piece after this weekend. Sacramento State has enough trouble graduating its students in the first place. The university doesn't need the added handicap of students dropping out of school to pay legal fees.
Bottom line: Use Safe Rides this Halloween. If they aren't able to accommodate you, get a taxi or crash at the party.
If all else fails, designate a driver. Make one of your loser friends feel important and wanted.
Even though countless people regularly drive intoxicated and nothing bad ever happens to them, the law of averages never gets cheated. If you don't crash, you run the risk of getting pulled over.
So have fun this Halloween. Just be safe. The Hornet hates to sound like nagging parents on this issue, especially since we have vices of our own, but we feel it is our duty to remind you of what you should already know: DUI's are costly and drunk driving is dangerous.
The State Hornet Staff can be reached at opinion@statehornet.com
However, we hope that reminding you how expensive a DUI can be might persuade you. Mother's Against Drunk Driving calculates the average cost of a 1st offense driving under the influence as costing between $7,000 and $11,000. MADD takes into account attorney fees, insurance costs and Driving/Alcohol Awareness School in its estimation. The calculations are based on an article from the Orange County Register in 1996. It's fair to assume that the average cost has gone up since then. Also, the estimate does not account for any damage or injury the drunk driver may have caused.
At any rate, The Hornet doesn't want to dampen your parties or get all Puritan in your drunken revelry. No one here cares if you have a bad trip on mushrooms or get obscene drawings on your face in permanent marker while you are passed out. We merely want all of our students, even if they don't take the time to read our brilliance, to come back in one piece after this weekend. Sacramento State has enough trouble graduating its students in the first place. The university doesn't need the added handicap of students dropping out of school to pay legal fees.
Bottom line: Use Safe Rides this Halloween. If they aren't able to accommodate you, get a taxi or crash at the party.
If all else fails, designate a driver. Make one of your loser friends feel important and wanted.
Even though countless people regularly drive intoxicated and nothing bad ever happens to them, the law of averages never gets cheated. If you don't crash, you run the risk of getting pulled over.
So have fun this Halloween. Just be safe. The Hornet hates to sound like nagging parents on this issue, especially since we have vices of our own, but we feel it is our duty to remind you of what you should already know: DUI's are costly and drunk driving is dangerous.
The State Hornet Staff can be reached at opinion@statehornet.com
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