Don't Dance and Drive

It's 2 am on a Saturday morning. You and your friends are driving home from a long night at a high school party, even though you've all had a little too much to be behind the wheel. Then, out of nowhere, you look in your rearview mirror, and the terrifying mix of red and blue flashing lights pierces your dilated eyes. To your horror, the cop approaches your window and takes in a strong whiff of alcohol. He then proceeds to ask you the obvious question: "Have you folks been dancing recently?"

Ok, to any normal person that's not the obvious question; perhaps you thought the officer was going to ask if they'd been drinking that night. But to a resident of Bomont, Georgia in the 1980's, the cop's question would be nothing out of the ordinary. In Snow and Pitchford's musical, Footloose, this fictional town bans all types of dancing in an attempt to prevent driving under the influence, especially in underage teenagers.

As scary as it is, we all know somebody who, at some point in their life, has driven home while intoxicated, and the Moore family is no exception; Reverend Shaw Moore's son dies in a car accident after a dance party one night. Because of his death, and the sorrow and pain Shaw felt afterwards, the reverend creates a new law making dancing illegal in Bomont. While this law may sound crazy at first, thinking about the consequences of drinking and driving does cause one to wonder if the fictional character has a point.

Still today, driving while intoxicated is a persistent problem. Every day, in the United States alone, 27 people die from an alcohol-related car accident ("Drunk Driving Statistics"). Worsening the situation further is the addition of the cell phone, which causes 2,600 American deaths every year in and of itself (Brit). But despite these statistics, many people still neglect to believe that they could contribute to the growth of those numbers. Distracted driving is not only unnecessary, but preventable.

courtesy of huggs2

Obviously we aren't going to ban dancing to try to reduce the number of drunk drivers. Since MADD began its campaign, however, people were finally exposed to the consequences that accompany drunk driving. When the public is shown that other people could be impacted by their decisions, they are more likely to choose the right actions. Instead of risking the drive home, people are persuaded to get an uber; instead of letting everyone party, one person each night takes one for the team as the "designated sober driver." It's not too hard, but it is a slight inconvenience people need to get used to.

Despite its foolish nature, Footloose's ban on dancing actually stands for a valid purpose. Too many lives have been lost to drunk driving, and one can never tell who will be next.


photo taken from flickr.com

Works Cited:
Britt, Robert R. "Drivers on Cell Phones Kill Thousands, Snarl Traffic." Live Science. 1 February                  2005. Web.
"Drunk Driving Statistics." MADD. 2015. Web.