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February 13, 2017

Find a DUDE and Respect the DUDE

by Christian Delatorre

A few years ago my cousin and his friend were driving drunk and a train hit them. My cousin survived, but the driver did not. The wreck was a big deal and impacted everyone living in our small town. I attend Ranger College and I’m very active in the U in the Driver Seat Program as a peer educator. I joined the peer educator group at Ranger College after the incident with my cousin in hopes of ending impaired driving in my town.

When my friends and I go out we take turns being the DUDE. If i’m not going out, I always remind my friends to find a designated driver first. I have come to the rescue as a designated driver a few times, but let me tell you about this one time…

I was pretty upset that I had drive 2 hours to pick my friends up from a party, but at the same time I was happy they called me instead of choosing to drive back after drinking.

It’s instances like this that really bring to light the importance of planning ahead and finding a designated unimpaired driver extraordinaire. My suggestion to all you readers, don’t go to a party 2 hours away (heck, at all!) without a plan to get a safe, sober ride home. And treat your driver with respect; offer to buy them lunch or pay for gas cause 2 hours is a long drive.

Article by g-kolodzy / Tales From the DUDE Side / designated driver, dude, Tales from the DUDE side Leave a Comment

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