Serving as a designated driver is one of the best ways you can protect your friends and loved ones from driving under the influence. A designated driver is someone who stays sober so they can drive people back home who are too drunk to do it safely or legally.
Many designated drivers also find out that it can be hard to control drunk people riding in your vehicle. Yet it is still their responsibility to get them home safely.
What looked to be a possible designated driver accident turned out to be much more according to a report by KCRA in San Francisco. Two people were going northbound on State Route 113 and fighting in the car. The drunk passenger grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it. That caused the SUV they were in to strike a tree and then overturn.
When police examined the riders for alcohol, they found out that both had been drinking. The passenger and the driver both were arrested for DUI charges.
Let this case serve as a warning for designated drivers! Keep your passengers away from the vehicle controls. Even if you’re sober, you may not be able to keep a drunk passenger from trying to take control. If any of the people you’re helping become belligerent when drunk, consider calling a taxi or an Uber instead. They will have space in the back seat to get them home safe.
