What is your backup plan?

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Rob Thurber
  • 12th Reconnaissance Squadron
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  As Thanksgiving and the Iron Bowl (Auburn vs. Alabama game) approached I remembered a week back in 2004. It was right after the Iron Bowl when a DUI cost me a family member. He was driving back from watching the game with friends when he went off the road five minutes from home. When the family gathered to make the final arrangements, the coroner said that he smelled like a brewery. So instead of the entire family getting together to have some turkey, we gathered in Alabama to bury a beloved brother, uncle and, son. Needless to say my family was devastated and to this day we still have trouble coming to grips with his death. We often question if there was something we could have done differently to prevent his untimely death.

Years passed and I was able to pull a few lessons from that event. The first is that there are reasons other than just punishment and monetary cost to not drive drunk. Prior to his death, I will admit that my primary motivation for not driving drunk was avoiding the punishment and steep fines. It may seem that the major emphasis is avoiding punishment but, preventing loss of life has got to be the first thing that pops into your head. Just think of what would happen if you were responsible for killing others due to driving drunk. Also, think about the impact to your loved ones if they get that midnight call that you are dead because you made the choice to drive under the influence.

The second lesson involves planning. I don't think anyone has ever set out planning to get a DUI. Everyone has some sort of plan, albeit that some are absolutely doomed to fail from the start. If your plan is to have "a few drinks then drive" it will fail since a few drinks often leads to a few more and a few more until you think the plan is still valid when in reality you are too impaired to drive. What is your plan B? What is your plan C? Having one plan, provided it is a legitimate plan that does not involve trying to drive after "just having a few", is a good start but what happens if that plan falls apart. Just like other things in life, plan A might not work. What happens if your designated driver ends up drunk? What happens if you end up not being able to stay at your planned destination? You must have a backup plan that you can execute when plan A falls apart. If your plan is to call for a ride, do you have the number programed in your phone before setting out? Don't wait to develop the backup plan after plan A fails because we do not make the best decisions when we are already impaired.

The final lesson is involvement. If you are out with friends don't just ask the obligatory "Are you ok to drive?" and let that be the end. If they are impaired you need to step in and help them make the right decision. Instead of asking an obviously impaired person if they think they are ok to drive you need to step up and find them a safe ride home. Call a cab or B.A.A.D.D. for them, stay with them to make sure they don't drive. I can only image the pain that someone would feel if they did not step in and make sure their buddy had a safe ride and their friend ended up being killed or killing others.

As we enter the holiday season make sure you have a solid plan with a backup plan ready to execute if needed. And just as important, be ready to step in and help out others who may be too impaired to make the right decision to not get behind the wheel.

Contact Beale Airmen Against Drunk Driving (BAADD) at 530-300-8315.