Impaired driving can delude you to believe that you are doing the right thing. The thing about that is you are taking a chance every time you put yourself behind the wheel. It’s the uncontrollables that add up with the controllable. You can control being intoxicated, however you cannot control wildlife encounters. I doubt anyone ever considers that. Seeing the reflection of two eyes from an animal on the road in front of you can send a wave of adrenaline and fear through even the most experienced drivers, however, when under the influence that be delayed or impaired, increasing the risk of an accident. This possibility is often underestimated by people because they rely on their instincts to keep them safe, not remembering that when someone’s instincts have been affected, those instincts are not accurate at all.

I drive to clear my head. I will never forget that one Saturday night drive. I slow down. As I round the corner there are three police officers paying their dues to their call the night before. I have never seen that before. They sat at the crime scene for hours. A 16–year-old faced a deer the previous night. The reciprocated fear was what caused the tragedy that night.

You always hear advice that “The worst choice you can make is to swerve outside your lane or slam on your breaks with vehicles behind you” when you encounter wildlife on the road. We are never explicitly told what to do because there is no “right” answer. It’s a tough decision to make. And with delayed responses under the influence, the risk is 100% worse. What may take a sober person to decide on, in 1/2 a second, may now take a second to decide, and a lot can happen in that extra 1/2 of a second.

Sometimes that decision can go against morals or what you stand for. Defining the death that you are willing to sacrifice is never something you want to ever cross your mind but that is the sacrifice you have to be willing to make. An animal death or your own. It is something that nobody prepares themselves for, we want to believe that no matter what happens, that we can make a good decision. Yet many times we will be faced with that choice before we can think.

The swerve marks were so defined. The road was permanently stained with that car's imprint. That deer, however horrified, will have no regrets for the consequences that night. It was standing in the lane when the car going 80 mph in a 35 rounded the corner and swerved up the mountain to avoid collision. It made it a quarter of the way up the mountain until it hit a tree and ejected the driver from the seat. He was a statistic that night.

There was mourning for the next few days, weeks, months. And guilt, particularly from the passenger. She was not under the influence that night, but put herself and the driver at risk letting him drive intoxicated that night. She will never forgive herself for it because she lived and was faced with a dead carcass and having to dial 911. That is not fair to anyone. There is no validating the decisions made that night, however, she was wearing a seatbelt, he was not. The smallest decision became the difference between surviving and becoming another statistic.

There were multiple factors: impaired driving, seatbelts, and wildlife. Two were controllable, one was not. The uncontrollable factor, the wildlife, ultimately caused the death that night, while the other two were consequences. This shows the weight of uncontrollables: even if you manage the effects, some outcomes remain beyond your control. Every choice carries a chance, every action requires a sacrifice, so you have to ask yourself if you’re really willing to take that chance.

Even an innocent drive to clear your head can put you at risk. You think you’re just going for a calm drive, listening to music, but anything can happen in an instant. One moment you’re fine, the next, everything changes. Life doesn’t stop for us, and it doesn’t care if you're careful. Some things we can control, like drinking or wearing a seatbelt, but many things we can’t. A deer in the road, another driver’s “wrong” decision, or just bad luck can change everything. Every choice comes with a risk, and sometimes doing everything right isn’t enough. The hardest part is accepting that some things are out of reach, especially when your priority is the safety of everyone in the vehicle. The road isn’t just a road, it’s a reminder. A reminder that life throws curveballs, and we can’t anticipate what we can’t control. Every. Decision. Matters.