I am seriously surprised at these events of drunken driving leading to fatality. Two innocent lives lost, and families shattered. So many lives have changed forever owing to lack of judgment by a single grown-up adult person.
Nooria is 27 years old as reported by the media. (The same media which has reported two different reasons for the accident in papers owned by the same group, but that is besides the point here). She is not 14 or 16. Someone who has lived on her own in the US and come back to pursue a profession. Many people her age get married, have kids and also hold responsible positions at work.
What prompted her to drive her vehicle after such reported huge amount of alcohol, close to 6 – 7 large pegs?
I am sure someone who drinks that kind of alcohol is not an occasional drinker and must have done it earlier too. I am not against drinking or drinking in large amounts.
What puzzles me is the psyche behind driving a car to a party or gathering with friends where one is sure to drink and revel? Did she think that the police might not catch her or that she will be able to drive back home steadily? For God’s sake we have so many cabs in this city not to mention the services of Meru or Mega cabs too. One call for a cab would have saved the lives of the people who died for no fault of theirs and saved Nooria all the legal tangles which she is finding herself in.
This city has regularly featured in the media with cases of drunken driving but something is seriously wrong in the psyche of the people who don’t seem to take things seriously until something happens to THEM!
Last but not the least what kind of friends did she have who were reported to be hanging around with her? Were they really friends? Or were they simply acquaintances? I don’t think any good well-meaning friend would allow her to drive away after such a heavy – drinking session. They are friends whom we can choose not relatives.
Everyone is to blame to a certain extent – Nooria herself, her parents, friends, laws and enforcement of laws.
In a country like ours, laws alone won’t act as deterrent or help improve the drunken driving situation. People themselves have to become serious and take responsibility. Friends have to step – in and grab the reins before it is too late. Parents also have an active role to play. Accept that their child/ children drink and then help them become responsible by not admonishing rather instilling safe ways of drinking and reaching back home.
On the lighter side - Honda can claim how great its car safety measures are considering nothing happened to Nooria after the huge crash and the condition of the CRV as photographed in the media.
