Real Talk: Don’t DUI or You’ll Face the Music

DUI is bad. It’s really bad. It causes a lot of financial damage, mental and emotional anguish and it can kill people. DUI does kill people, so don’t drink and drive.

That’s a pretty simple message. We know it’s dangerous to run around with scissors, so we don’t do it. If running with scissors killed a person at the rate of one per hour, we’d see a lot more anti-running-with-scissors awareness campaigns and Mannequin challenges, for that matter. Somehow, not running with scissors is common knowledge, while the danger of a DUI isn’t. That’s exactly why law enforcement is upping the anti-DUI game, bringing in some hard hitters… like Nickelback and One Direction.

In Minnesota, law enforcement tweeted its dastardly plan for DUI drivers:

Unfortunately, we don’t have the actual statistics on that weekend’s DUI numbers. We can only assume that as a result of the crackdown, there wasn’t a drunk driver on the roads throughout the Thanksgiving weekend in Wyoming, MN. That’s probably why Canada’s Kensington Police Service followed up with this similar pledge on Facebook:

“When we catch you, and we will catch you… on top of a hefty fine, a criminal charge and a years driving suspension we will also provide you with a bonus gift of playing the offices copy of Nickelback in the cruiser on the way to jail.”

Somehow, the ominous threat of court costs, jail time and an ignition interlock requirement aren’t enough to scare common sense into would-be drunk drivers. Facing the music, it seems, is the newest law enforcement technique being used to grab the attention of a person who thinks they could be okay to drive. It may be silly, but playing covers of “Photograph,” or “What Makes You Beautiful” could trigger a response in an intoxicated driver, sending them straight to a phone for a safe ride home.

Well, probably not, but at least we know that law enforcement is using social media and popular music to connect with those who aren’t literally running with scissors, but who are much more dangerous to others on the road. DUI is bad, worse than any overplayed song on the radio, and the consequences last long after the final note has played.