“I BLACKED out while driving home,” says Mike, recalling that he had too much to drink that night. “But somehow I made it to my house. When I got up the next morning, I noticed that the passenger side of my car was badly damaged, but I couldn’t remember having an accident! I drove around trying to figure out what had happened, and that’s when I saw it. The big stone pillar near the cemetery had been hit, and the paint from my car was all over it. I must have smashed into it the night before! It really scared me.”

Mike got off easy​—he lived to talk about it. Unfortunately, many others do not. “Drunk driving is the leading cause of death for young people aged 16-24,” says the 1984 Report on the National Conference for Youth on Drinking and Driving. ‘Oh, it won’t happen to me!’ you may think. But that’s probably what many a victim had said to himself! See also the box on page 20, “It Can Happen to You!”

‘But what’s the harm in driving if all you’ve had is a couple of beers?’ some may ask. That points to a major reason why youths drink and drive​—they (and adults, too!) are victims of myths about the effects of alcohol. Here are a few examples:

MYTH: It’s safe to drive if all you’ve had is a couple of beers.

FACT: “The alcohol in two 12-ounce [355-cc] cans of beer consumed in less than an hour can slow a driver’s reaction by 2/5ths of a second​—allowing an automobile traveling at 55 miles per hour [89 km/​hr] to travel an additional 34 feet [10.4 m]—​possibly the difference between a near miss and a crash.”​—Development of a Traffic Safety and Alcohol Program for Senior Adults, by James L. Malfetti, Ed.D., and Darlene J. Winter, Ph.D.

MYTH: Having some black coffee will sober one up more quickly.

FACT: Coffee may make a person more awake, but he’s still drunk. The body eliminates alcohol at a fixed oxidation rate regardless of how much coffee one downs. Only time helps a person sober up.

MYTH: It’s OK to drive as long as you don’t feel drunk.

FACT: It’s dangerous to rely on how you feel. Alcohol creates an illusion of well-being, making the drinker feel that he’s in control when in fact his abilities have been diminished.

Dangerous though it is for anyone to mix drinking and driving, it’s even riskier for youths. Why?

Besides refraining from drinking and driving, there are other things you can do to safeguard yourself and others from an alcohol-related traffic accident: (1) Don’t get in a car with a driver who’s been drinking. Life is a gift from God. (Romans 6:23) Why put such a precious gift into the hands of someone who’s been drinking? (2) Don’t let a friend drive if he’s been drinking. He may get upset, but, then again, he may appreciate what you did once he comes to his senses.​—Compare Psalm 141:5.