It's so simple: If you drink, don't get behind the wheel of a car.
But because people choose to ignore common sense, an estimated 12,945 people died in 2005 as a result of drunken driving, according the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
One death at the hands of a drunken driver is one too many. But we all know people will never stop driving while impaired, regardless of the consequences.
More than ever, this situation now includes professional athletes and coaches.
In the last year, there have been a slew of incidents involving professional athletes and their coaches being arrested on charges of drunken driving.
Some notable names include newly signed Oakland Raiders running back Dominic Rhodes, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Gustavo Chacin and Florida Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis.
The most disturbing example came two weeks ago with the arrest of St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.
On March 22, police in Jupiter, Fla., the home of Cardinals' spring training, found La Russa asleep in his sport utility vehicle, The Associated Press reported. The SUV was partially in an intersection and with the gearshift in drive and La Russa's foot on the brake.
After providing two breath samples, La Russa had a blood alcohol content of 0.093 percent. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08. This was after being awoken by police. Who knows how high his blood alcohol content would have been if he hadn't fallen asleep?
After posting $500 bail, La Russa was on the field the next day. He was greeted by many fans who cheered and applauded him.
This disgusts me.
Just because La Russa managed his team to a World Series doesn't mean he should get a free pass or be greeted with cheers. He broke the law, and like it is always said in so many drunken driving incidents, he could have killed somebody.
But La Russa has yet to be punished by Major League Baseball or the Cardinals.
Especially troubling is the lack of punishment from his own team. How can you look the other way on something so blatant, especially when the naming rights to your stadium are held by a beer company?
This is in contrast with how another of sports' biggest issues, steroids, is being handled.
The baseball and football leagues have taken hard lines on performance-enhancing drugs and have upped the punishments to monumental levels if a player is caught.
The same needs to be done for drunken driving. What will the reputation of a league look like when one of its players drunkenly slams into a minivan?
Despite these incidents, there have been some positive steps taken.
An example is how the NBA handled Sacramento Kings head coach Eric Musselman.
He was suspended for two games without pay after pleading no contest to a drunken driving charge. He was pulled over in October, with a blood alcohol content of 0.11 percent, The Associated Press reported.
While I am glad Musselman did not fight the charges, he never should have placed himself in the situation. The two-game suspension is a good start, but it is not enough, considering there are 82 games in an NBA season.
Suspensions for drunken driving should be more severe across the board and should escalate for repeat offenses - just like the league's steroid policies.
Offenders should also be required to speak to schools about how dangerous their actions were.
Like it or not, these sports figures are role models, and they should have to act the part.
When taking into account that the average salaries in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB are all more than $1 million, the players and coaches can afford the taxi.
Ryan Klocke can be reached at a href="mailto:rklocke@theorion.com">rklocke@theorion.com
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