287 too much...

Most of us work hard, some even work really hard. There comes a period of time when we’ve had such a long week we can’t wait to sleep in, relax and catch up with our loved ones. It’s a special feeling when you don’t have to say anything but someone who cares about you knows when something is wrong. Sometimes they don’t have to say anything too, a simple hug, kiss or pat on the back reassures you that it’s going to be okay. We all need people like that in our lives, whether it’s our parents, spouses or children. Now let’s go back to that long week we all dread, you know the kind that makes you think it’s Thursday but it’s only Tuesday. The clock strikes 5:30 pm, you finish your second beer and you’re out the office. Only to get stuck in traffic for another hour.

When you eventually get home you normally smell what’s for dinner before you close the garage door and put your things down. This time, nothing. “That’s weird?” you think, the house is dark, clearly there is no one home. “It must be that load shedding holding everything up”, you think to yourself. You proceed to call your spouse, but there is no answer,”As usual the phone battery has died!” you conclude. Oh well, might as well wait it out, besides there’s now time for you to get another cold one in the fridge. A nap seems good at this point, so why not. An hour passes and you wake up in a panic because the house is still quiet, you decide that it’s better you investigate and take a drive. Now you’re worried, it makes no sense why they aren’t home yet, you drive their usual route back. There is a chill in your spine now and you’re practically weaving in and out of traffic thinking the worst. You see ambulance lights right ahead of the stop lights and you’re praying to God that what you fearing isn’t true. Your hazards are flickering, you’re hooting and flashing. As you cross the intersection you try make out the car that is stopped next to the ambulance but before you do you T-Bone a lady and her two kids on their way home.

You wake up at the hospital and all you can remember was a big crash and then, nothing. As you come to, you’re ask “are they okay!?” The doctors reluctantly explain to you that unfortunately everyone died on the scene. You’re heart drops, it cannot be, what you feared worst has happened, you are inconsolable. Seconds later you hear your spouse and child scream for you whilst arriving in the hospital ward. You’re confused, scared and delighted at the same time, until you realise that they weren’t talking about your family. You killed the family in the car you crashed into. The guilt and the pain is unexplainable. As you try make sense of what has just happened, the police arrive. They ask you a number of questions and you explain to them exactly what had happened. They tell you that the ambulance you thought saw was in fact a police car doing a routine stop. Your spouse tells you that they were simply running half an hour late and that they arrived home moments after you left. You are even more confused now, the police tell you the main reason why they are there, they say, “We received a report from the accident, it turns out you were over the legal limit”.

The reality is that a scenario like this has happened to many people, they think their okay to drive but their not. This year the death toll around the Easter season increased by nearly 100 people to a staggering 287 lives. Those lives included, mothers, fathers and children. You might think you’re okay but drinking and driving obscures your judgement. So we beg you motorists not to drink and drive, it’s selfish and unfair to those around you, it’s not okay, your’e not okay.