As summer approaches, we often find the parties to be more frequent and the booze more free flowing. With that being said, I don't think it's uncommon to find ourselves farther from home at those parties than we are during the school year. In a small town, it's not uncommon to be at a social event in the next town over, or fifteen miles down a dirt road somewhere. Without being able to walk back to the dorms, bum a ride off of a friend at 2 a.m., or call "Safe Ride" (or whatever sober driving service your college town provides), it leaves few options to get you home safely.

On average, according to the MADD website, two-thirds of people will be involved in a drunk driving accident some time during their lifetime. You've heard it all before, drunk driving more often than not, affects more than just the driver. Pedestrians get hit, other vehicles get demolished or the driver ends up wrapped around a telephone pole. Nobody wins when you choose to drive drunk. Unfortunately, the group with the highest number of drunk driving incidents are people in their 20s. That's us.

This summer, be extra cautious and choose to not drive drunk. I guarantee that your friends, parents and siblings would much rather come pick you up at 3 a.m. than have to pick up your belongings from a coroner because you chose to drive drunk. It's not worth trading your future or someone else's just to get yourself home after a party, it's OK to have to ask for a ride. If you can't choose to not drive for your own sake, do it for the family and friends of the people that you could potentially hurt or kill if you choose to drive.

You've heard it a million times, but it's important to remember who else you can affect by choosing to get behind the wheel. It's stupid, and quite frankly, it's selfish to drive drunk.

Putting other people at risk just because you've had a few too many is cowardly because you didn't just call to ask for a ride. So be smart, and don't drive if you've had too many. Statistically speaking, the fatalities surrounding drunk driving have declined in recent years, so continue being proactive about it and save a few lives.