The month of August brings many people to start thinking about the end of summer; schools will reopen in just a matter of days and Labor Day, the traditional end of the summer vacation season, is just a month away.
Such thoughts often lead many people to plan one last vacation or give greater urgency to spending more time at the beach or other traditional vacation spots. And that can mean more people on our roadways.
We rarely think about it, but every time we go out on the road we take some risks. Unfortunately, the risk on Rio GrandeValley roads is a bit higher than in other areas — even though it shouldn’t be.
A recent report released by online drivers education application Zutobi ranked Texas among the top five states with regard to drunk driving, with nearly 1,500 drunk-driving fatalities in 2020 and a rate of 316 DUI arrests per 100,000 drivers.
Worse, law enforcement officials say that DUI rates have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with one of the greatest increases here in the Valley. Mothers Against Drunk Driving of South Texas, citing information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reports that statistically, two out of every three people will be involved in a drunk-driving crash at some point during their lives.
This is one area where it isn’t good to be at the top of the list. Simply put, the more drivers we see on Valley roads, the greater the chance that we’ll encounter someone who is functionally impaired, whether by alcohol or other inebriating drug.
It’s unfortunate, and certainly alarming, that so many local residents are willing to get behind the wheel after they’ve been drinking. The effects of alcohol and other substances is well documented, and the dangers of driving while intoxicated should be common knowledge,
To be sure, this isn’t a recent development in South Texas; the area has always ranked high among DWI arrests, accidents and fatalities.
Several years ago state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. addressed similar reports of the Valley’s high DWI rates by saying that it was a function of residents’ family-oriented culture. The high incidence of gatherings celebrating weddings, quinceañeras, birthdays and even graduations drew local residents to more frequent occasions where alcohol is served. Such events, however, don’t lessen the need for people to be responsible and avoid driving drunk.
Likewise, some people have suggested that the recent rise in DWI arrests in the Valley could be related by the higher presence of state troopers patrolling the area as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star illegal immigration campaign. Those patrols, however, don’t cause more people to drive drunk, they simply catch them — and it’s a good thing they do, as impaired drivers don’t endanger only themselves but also their passengers and anyone else who is in their proximity.
The Rio GrandeValley traditionally ranks high on several lists of health risks such as diabetes and obesity. The most frequent, and potentially the most fatal, of those risks remains the number of local residents who drive drunk.
The solution is as old as it is simple: If you plan to drive, don’t drink, and if you plan to drink, don’t drive. As our streets start to fill up with people looking to get in a few more days of fun before the summer ends, we hope people think twice before mixing drinking with driving, and advise all drivers to be alert for drivers who might not heed that advice.
Let’s all do what we can to ensure that the waning days of summer are both fun and safe.
