New Year’s drunk driving is a choice you don’t have to make, advocate says
Dec 28, 2023, 12:04 PM | Updated: 12:10 pm
(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — New Year’s Eve means parties, going out, and the potential for alcohol use. While the Utah Highway Patrol saw fewer drunk and impaired driving arrests on New Year’s Eve last year than the prior one, it only takes one drunk driver to change the lives of many.
Austin Kent of South Jordan lost his dad when he was a child when a drunk driver hit his car and killed him. Kent said it severely affected him, his brother, and his mom growing up. Kent said he is still feeling the impacts of the loss, especially now that he is a father.
“I have two kids now. And my two kids don’t have a grandpa. That’s a weird thing to think about, but it’s true. Like, they don’t have a grandpa. They’ll never know what it’s like to have a grandpa on my side because he’s not around. And it was not his choice,” said Kent.
With so many options from ride-sharing to taxis, Kent hopes his story will inspire others to use them, or to call a loved one for a ride instead of reaching for the keys.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 37 people die each day due to drunk driving.
The NHTSA said all of those deaths were preventable.