You’re coming out of a bar and you decide to get behind the wheel of a car. You say you’ve only had one drink and you feel fine.

I know my limits, you say. Whether it’s one drink or seven, drunken driving is drunken driving. If you have gotten behind the wheel of a car while inebriated and lived to tell about it, you should be thanking whatever religious force you believe in.

We’ve all had it drilled into our heads that drunken driving is wrong, but how many of us actually practice what we preach? I am by no means perfect. I have gotten into a car with someone who has been drinking, and I am guilty of driving after having just a “few drinks.” I know better. We all do.

In light of the recent drunken driving fatalities around the Sacramento area, I decided this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Sacbee.com reports the most recent drunken driving fatality was that of a 21-year-old woman who died in a Del Paso Heights crash Sunday night. Pranompheo Phaisongkham was the sixth victim of an alcohol-related wreck in Sacramento County in the past two weeks.

The suspect of this drunken driving fatality, just like many others, is being charged with vehicular manslaughter. Although vehicular manslaughter is a serious charge, I don’t think people are learning their lesson. When there is a fatality involving drunken driving, I believe the offenders should be charged with murder, either first degree or second.

I know it sounds extreme, but hear me out. Both charges of murder are defined as killing with premeditation. When a person decides to drive after having a few drinks, he or she is well aware that the effect of alcohol can prove to be dangerous. To me, that sounds a bit premeditated. By prosecuting these offenders more severely, law enforcement would be setting an example.

I have two reasons for being so adamant about harsher punishment for drunken drivers. Reason number one: drunken driving is easily avoidable. We all have that one friend who doesn’t drink, and if you don’t know who that person is, then you’re probably him or her. Even if you don’t know who that person is, take turns. I can guarantee if you knew there was a chance for a murder charge, you would think twice.

Reason number two: I was in a pretty bad accident about two years ago. I cannot begin to tell you how terrifying it is to be struck by a car going 50 miles an hour. Thankfully, I and the other party walked away with minor scrapes and bruises, but the experience scarred me for life. The way I figure it, driving is hard enough without alcohol. Do you really want to live your life on the edge?

I truly believe that California should lead the country in having stricter drunken driving laws; after all we have the highest rate of alcohol-related drunken driving deaths. MADD.com states that out of 4,329 traffic deaths, 40% were alcohol related.

Investor’s Business Daily seems to think that stricter laws for drunken driving are a form of ‘neo-prohibitionism.’ I strongly disagree. No one is saying you can’t drink alcohol, but when a drunken driver takes the wheel, it’s not just about him or her, it is about everyone else around.

Oneika Richardson can be reached at [email protected]