Elders Aren't the Only Danger on the Road: Drug-Users Take Lives Too!

Although there has been a rash of fatal accidents on recently involving elderly motorists, there's another series of accidents that is flying just below the radar, fatalities involving people driving under the influence of drugs.

For example, this past weekend a popular teacher at the Boston area's Higashi School was killed by a driver who was alleged to have been operating under the influence of heroin.

According to TV news reports of this accident in Milton, MA, the driver of an SUV passed over a double-yellow line -- an offense in any state, usually punishable by a $50 to $100 fine -- and in doing so slammed head-on into a car driven by a 28-year-old special needs teacher.

What makes this matter worse is that according to a third vehicle involved in the accident -- it was like a ping-pong game -- the driver of the car that hit the young teacher's vehicle got out, looked around to make sure that no one saw him and then fled into some woods, according to witnesses at the scene.

It took a police search of some hours to find the young bespectacled driver who was charged not only with motor vehicle homicide but also with various motor vehicle charges, including operating under the influence of heroin.

Usually, you hear about folks who cause fatalities who are driving under the influence of beer or wine, but this is the first accident where the driver has been accused of operating under the influence of a narcotic drug.

Maybe it's a generational thing, but, there didn't seem to be the same type of moral outrage that has been generated by elders who have been involved in a recent spate of fatalities.

It's not that this is a new problem, either. Back in the 1970s and 1980s there was huge uptick in fatal accidents caused by drivers who used cocaine and what were termed other "recreational pharmaceuticals" at the time. It may have been maturity or something, but this trend died down in the late 1980s and the use of alcohol became the cause celebre for those who operated under the influence.

Indeed, it seemed that everyone knew someone who operated under the influence of alcohol and it seemed the public seemed to be saying "as long as it wasn't any more serious" then what's the problem?

The problem that a drug, whether it's an opiate like heroin or alcohol or even aspirin, is still a drug and it operating while using it can have consequences.

In this instance, a group of autistic children lost a popular and highly effective teacher who was cut down before she had even reached her prime. The alleged offender tried to sneak into the rear of the courthouse where the initial hearing was held.

Putting this into more perspective, every year more than 40,000 motorists lose their lives in car crashes and in about half or more of those accidents some sort of drug use is involved.

This is a national epidemic that few people want to acknowledge, yet which exists. What will it take to change this? It will take a whole new attitude that says, "It's not right to operate under any form of drug!!" "It's dangerous and if you do, then you have to face the consequences."