Drink driving comments

From a reader: Please let drank, drove, died know how I admire the fact that he came forward and told us his story.  That was a very brave thing to do and I know someone somewhere has been touched.  I also lost a son to drunk driving many years ago and it’s not easy.  He has an amazing family who can be very proud of him.  Yes he made mistakes but the best thing is he has learnt from them and he can truly talk to others who are going down the same road he was walking.  Very proud of you.  Hugs

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Surely the parents can see the writing on wall…..the young adults of today are too immature and inexperienced to be driving the vehicles they are being happily handed. We all like to imagine that our child is mature enough to handle a situation should it arise but they aren’t. No your child does not need a Subaru or an Altezza, they don’t need a car that has so much horse power that it is more at home on the track than the streets. It’s not about the image and who has the better car, it’s about transport aspect how to get from a to b. A Vitz, a March! When will people wake up and realize that? Yes it is a great convenience that your child has their driver’s license no more school runs, no more late night after party runs but if the time was taken to get up and go do these things lives could be saved.  I look around at all the death and carnage and have a sudden pang for the old Mazda 323s that top speed was next to snail crawl but you could control the vehicle in a situation when it arose. A suggestion is that the insurance companies start levying for age and engine capacity making it more prohibitive for such cars to be driven? Also fully agree with guilty parties going and doing service in trauma centers, even if it’s too late for the other person who was involved it will certainly bring home the humbling reality of what even the smallest of errors will result in.

Not so much an oldie but seriously concerned for the future.

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It's shocking to see how many teenagers at tin roof will get into a car after a heavy night. Every Friday night there are several accidents involving young people who think they are invincible after drinking. Perhaps the police should put a road block up on both ends of Enterprise road on a Friday and Saturday night, and arrest all the drunk drivers.

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Thanks for sharing this. One thing that perhaps could be done to help reduce this culture in our community is for people like this young man and other ‘lucky survivors’ (including those that have been less lucky and have perhaps sustained more serious injuries) to take their stories into high schools to give talks to older kids that are just learning to drive, and who until attitudes start to change will be all set to replicate the approaches demonstrated by their parents’ generation, which include drunk and reckless driving and talking on cell phones – perhaps hearing some real life experiences from those that have survived to tell the tale will literally be a sobering experience for them! Concerned motorist

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I would like to comment on “Young drivers, on our road, think it is okay to get behind the wheel of a ‘lethal weapon’ when they are ”trashed”.   Wake up people!   Too many accidents happening and too many lives lost because of drink driving.”  What example are older drivers setting for young drivers? In going out, or meeting at the ‘pup’ after work for a couple of drinks or go out to the lake and have a couple plus beers, and not think twice getting into a car, with families in tow, and driving home.  It would seem that there peer pressure in Zimbabwe is not so much about drugs as its about drinking…since being a teenager myself, I have heard the same comment over and over again ‘you are not a man unless you have a drink….’  There is such shame placed on people (being adults or teenagers of legal drinking age) whom are responsible when they know they have to drive and say no to drinking…. Surely that is the mentality that needs to change, not just young drivers thinking it’s ok, but all drivers, no matter the age. 

Surely parents should also be responsible in which cars they allow their kids drive.  How many kids have you seen drive around in powerful supped up cars  - then going out with friends and thinking they can play…. Maybe it’s showing off, or maybe it’s another form of peer pressure – ‘so how fast can your car go’. I have seen an increasing number of kids parking their supped powerful cars in school car parks, so there is no denying it.  It is also time us parents and older drivers also lead by example – in both drinking and driving, and cell phone useage. 

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Very inspirational and amazing story. Thank you, hopefully our youngsters will read, listen and live. Happy days….

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Brave young man for sharing his story. Well done and hope for speedy recovery. The last thought provoking message, could read:  - drank, drove, died / killed -    Thank God not the case this time...... Pause for thought indeed.

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Driving becomes more dangerous by the hour – in the last few months the deterioration has been massive –

Two things need to happen urgently

1)     Police need to reinstate proper road control & stop wasting time, man-power, resources on road blocks which are purely in place to provide revenue from fines for non-life threatening activities

            They need to have  “B” cars patrolling around the clock and especially during the night - late Saturday and early Sunday, breathalyzer tests on site, etc etc

2)     Parents should stop giving their 16 year olds cars to drive to school in – and parents should find time to drive their children to school, parties etc and if they don’t have time they should either make time or stop having children

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