Impairment

Information is starting to come out about the woman who crashed into the parade here in Oklahoma. One of the things that her lawyer is stressing is that she wasn't intoxicated. Tests results haven't been released yet so I don't know if she was or not, but his comments highlight a larger problem when it comes to driving while impaired. In fact, it speaks volumes about how we ignore the growing problems of mental and physical health in connection with dangerous tools.

When I was younger, Mothers Against Drunk Driving were a very visible and loud public force. M.A.D.D. produced commercials, gave talks at schools, held marches, and spoke with lawmakers about enforcing the laws that encourage people to think twice about driving under the influence of alcohol. M.A.D.D. has been successful in some ways. A lot of places have programs to keep people out of their cars when they're drunk. Many groups will designate someone to stay sober to drive. In the larger culture, M.A.D.D. achieved a level of awareness about responsible drinking that people lacked before that. Effective communication usually is most often achieved when one narrows the focus. M.A.D.D. did this. "Don't drink and drive." In that way, it is an example of a successful, focused campaign.

 In another way, however, M.A.D.D. is also a good example of how a narrow focus can allow people to have a narrow perception. The accused in the parade tragedy's lawyer is a good example of this. The media narrative he is building about his client is that she is not a monster. She wasn't drinking. She has mental illness and untreated diabetes. These two things caused her to lose control of her car.

I'm in no way saying that it's M.A.D.D.'s fault that the woman did this. What I am saying is that the focus on 'don't drive if you're drunk' is not the message people should have heard. The message should have been 'don't drive if you're not mentally, physically, or emotionally capable of doing so.'

I think many of us can think of times when we got behind the wheel of a car and knew we were too tired, too sick, too feverish, or too emotional to be driving. The problem is, often when we're in these states, we'll excuse our actions by thinking 'well, at least I'm not drunk. That's the really bad thing to be when  you drive.' And yes, being drunk is a bad thing to be when you drive, but the fact is, any kind of impairment should keep you from driving. Being tired or severely dehydrated or really angry are all just as dangerous when you're driving. Driving isn't something we should take for granted. It is a serious thing that requires the best of our focus.

Of course, there are times when our basic judgment is what is impaired. We're mentally ill and don't realize what we're doing. Our blood sugar isn't being regulated and we don't realize what we're doing. In these cases, tragedies can happen and it may be beyond our control.

To me, this is one of the major reasons why mental and physical health should be a priority. Mental health is usually the handwaving done when mass shootings happen. If that's the problem, what are we going to do about that problem. We can't just shake our heads and excuse everything because folks are crazy. We need to find ways to treat that crazy.