Drinking and driving

by Editor · Published September 5, 2012 · Updated September 3, 2012

The reaction in the United States and elsewhere to the news of the arrest of an archbishop for driving under the influence of alcohol has been instructive about attitudes towards drink-driving.

"Few people would consent to other forms of behaviour that put at risk the lives of others. "

For many people, Archbishop Salvadore Cordileone made a mistake which is not a big deal.

While he should face the legal consequences of his actions, the reasoning goes, he had a misfortune in being caught while driving above the limit, while others �get away with it�.

Conversely, those who have lost family members, friends or colleagues to accidents involving drink-driving have strongly criticised Archbishop Cordileone�s conduct. To many of them, he has lost his moral authority by knowingly and recklessly endangering the lives of innocent people.

One need not have experienced the traumatic grief of losing a loved one in a traffic accident to regard Archbishop Cordileone�s offence as dangerous and imprudent, much more so since it was committed by a prelate whose mission it is to impart responsible moral and social values.

Driving in a state of inebriation puts others at risk, even when the driver does not appear to be incapacitated. Whole families are wiped out because a stranger did not know when to stop drinking before taking charge of a vehicle. There can be no justification for this, and there can be no excuse for producing such a risk in the first place.

According to statistics, 55% of all drivers involved in car accidents in South Africa in 2003 were under the influence of alcohol. In the United States, Archbishop Cordileone�s country, 40% of total traffic deaths in 2006 were alcohol related.

Archbishop Cordileone was not �unlucky� to be caught; he was lucky to be caught before a situation could arise in which he might have contributed to such alarming statistics.

The Fifth Commandment instructs us not to kill. Inebriated drivers frequently kill (including themselves), and every drunk driver takes the risk of killing somebody, be it total strangers or their passengers.

Drink-driving ��never mind drunk-driving ��is in conflict with the Fifth Commandment by virtue of creating the avoidable potential of others being killed. Even those who encourage or tolerate drink-driving are complicit in the commandment�s violation.

Few people would consent to other forms of behaviour that put at risk the lives of others. There is no good reason why drink-driving should be tolerated. It is a social convention which requires correction to such an effect that it becomes a taboo, with people who drive under the influence of alcohol being held accountable for their recklessness not only by the law, but also by society.

Those dimwits who regale their audiences with tales of how they were �so wasted� that they could not remember how they managed to drive home safely can still count on receiving appreciative guffaws and backslapping for their supposedly intrepid antics.

A more compelling response to such stories would include a severe reprimand and perhaps a withdrawal of future offers of alcohol. Alas, in most sectors of our society, those who might advocate such an approach still risk being patronised as killjoys.

Nonetheless, even at the risk of compromising good social relations, Christians have an obligation to take a strong stand against drink-driving ��even when the offender is an archbishop.

Archbishop Cordileone, by all accounts a compassionate and considerate man, has apologised for his error in judgment and acknowledged his �shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself�.

Time will tell whether his� flock will accept his apology and how this incident might impact on his ability to lead the archdiocese of San Francisco.

These are questions that relate to his capacity as a leader. However, as a man and as a fellow Christian, he should be regarded as a fellow sinner on our pilgrim road in need of redemption, as we all are.

This should not be a time to denounce the archbishop, but one for a teaching moment about the perils of drink-driving.

May Archbishop Cordileone�s experience help to attach a stigma to the legal and moral offence of driving under influence of alcohol.