DRUNK DRIVING’S LASTING IMPACT ON STUDENTS

 Caitlyn Miles

@Kaitlynmiles123                                                                                                                          

 

The Potchefstroom community has been left shaken after the death of 18-year-old Charlize Botha on 11 April, following a motor accident on Thabo Mbeki Street. The 21-year-old driver remains in critical condition with possible sentencing ahead. While the outcome is devastating, decisions leading up to nights like these are deeply familiar to students.

 

A third-year student, whose identity is known to Wapad, says drinking and driving had become something they hardly questioned. “I have driven drunk more times than I can count. I didn’t think much of the consequences,” he said. Late-night drives after drinking, packed cars, and the refusal to end the night early often create a grey area between confidence and recklessness. For many students, the danger only becomes apparent in retrospect.

 

Another student, who also wished to remain anonymous, said their confidence as a passenger disappeared in seconds. “We’ve always been suckers for late-night drives,” they explained.

 

What started as a routine night quickly turned dangerous. “I realised the car was no longer under control when it had already started rolling,” the student recalls. Even after rolling, both the student and the driver remained conscious. However, they were not out of harm’s way. The vehicle had been set on fire, and shock had set in. “The doors couldn’t open. My friend climbed out of the sunroof, and when he saw I wasn’t following, he had to pull me out. I would have died.”

 

Both accounts share a similar pattern: an ordinary night out, familiar decisions, and the belief that nothing will go wrong until control is suddenly lost. While the students survived these experiences, not every story ends that way. 

 

One of the anonymous students described the atmosphere before the loss of control as a “dopamine-fuelled riot” and recognised the sudden shift to fear and tension after his car had spun out on the road. The tension still follows them. The student explains that driving is no longer an option, and as a passenger, they have become hypervigilant. Many students relate to these events and often become aware of the dangers of intoxicated driving from experience rather than statistics.

 

As a third-year student, they recognise the close calls from their first year. The hype-fuelled moments that lead to intoxicated driving rarely include the thought of consequences for those inside the vehicle or around it. “Don’t put your life on the line because of your friends,” they said.

 

As an undertaker in Potchefstroom, Ruben Van Niekerk often encounters the aftermath of vehicle-related deaths, many involving young people. “Alcohol and emotions are always in the mix,” he explains. “Some good emotions, some bad—the outcome is the same.” Van Niekerk describes the jarring aftermath of these tragedies as the human need to understand what led to the moment where life was lost. Although many students walk away from these experiences, he finds this story all too familiar.

 

Surrounded by those left behind, unexpected and tragic loss is where Van Niekerk recognises that risks cannot be avoided, especially by students, but they can be calculated. “Make mistakes you can walk away from,” he says.

 

Burnt Car (Source: Unsplash.com).

 

Edited by Isabel Burgers