I was watching TV when I saw a really funny insurance commercial by a South African company which had a really drunk guy being driven home by a stig character and it inspired me to write this article. It is not a secret that driving after drinking is a bad idea. Everyone who drinks is aware of this but somehow it keeps happening on Zimbabwe's roads. We really need to think about the repercussions of impaired driving. I am guilty of letting friends or family take the wheel when they have had a couple of beers. Whilst I am fortunate enough not to have been involved in an accident, not everyone is that lucky. Statistics show that 35%-50% of fatal accidents involve an impaired driver. A lot of people think that you have to be frightfully drunk to avoid driving but it only takes a few drinks to diminish judgement.
Drinking and driving and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal in Zimbabwe. However a brief chat with some police officers exposed how difficult this law is to enforce. The Zimbabwe Republic Police does not have enough resources to counter drinking and driving for example not every police station has breathalysers and a very low percentage of roadblocks have this important tool. If a person is suspected to be driving whilst intoxicated they are supposed to have blood tests or breathalyser test within two hours. Because of scarcity of testing resources this is not always possible. On top of that, the results of these tests can only be admissible in court if they were taken by a government official. However, if found guilty of drinking and driving or driving whilst intoxicated this could lead to serious costs.
Human cost
About a third to half of all fatal accidents involve a drunk driver killing and injuring thousands every year. When we get behind the wheel whilst we are intoxicated we do not only risk our lives but the lives of every individual around us. It is painful to see injuries or lives being lost because of a drunk driver. Insurance companies through their motor policies provide for medical costs and sometimes funeral cost after an accident. When we choose to drive whilst we are intoxicated we disqualify ourselves from initiating any claim in this regard. We also increase risk of injuring someone or even taking their life. Some insurance companies offer extra benefits such as medical bill payments for passengers. In normal circumstances as passengers we are entitled to this benefit, but when we choose to let someone drive after drinking we are waving our rights to this privilege.
Legal cost
As I mentioned before, drinking and driving is a crime in Zimbabwe. We risk having our driver's licences suspended when we drive under the influence. When our driver's licence is suspended, we will be unable to take any kind of motor insurance as this is a very important requirement when we are purchasing insurance. We also risk paying huge fines to the police and sometimes even jail sentences. Yet these are consequences of just being caught on the side of the road, when we are involved in an accident more charges like manslaughter for example might accrue to us. This is not the kind of liability covered by the motor insurance.
Financial cost
The fees we are ordered to pay by policemen or judges are only a fraction of the financial costs of drinking and driving. Having to repair or replace your car after an accident is a great cost. If the accident involves a third party the cost could even double as you'll need to repair or replace two vehicles at the same time. The reason we take insurance is to reduce that kind of financial burden. However when we make the decision to drink and drive we are re-burdening ourselves. Even if you have been paying your premium, insurance companies normally do not pay a claim involving a drunk driver. It is a basic principle of insurance not to pay for self inflicted losses.
In conclusion, most drunk drivers are getting away with this crime because of the difficulty of enforcing the law, but are they really avoiding its cost? Mr Kativhu, the Operations Executive at Champions Insurance Company had this to say, "It (Driving under the influence) increases accidents thereby increasing the number of claims that are filed with insurers. Our police officers do not have equipment to test whether a driver was drunk or not as such claims that could have otherwise been repudiated are then paid and the insurer loses out. As the insurer tries to realign cost to premium, eventually the price of insurance will go up". From his statement you can tell that reckless drunk drivers are going to pass on the cost of driving under the influence to the more careful drivers as price of insurance will be increased in an effort by insurance companies to minimise thier losses. So please do not drink and drive!
What do you think we should do to help our police officers enforce the law prohibiting driving under the influence?
