This Teenager Deserves a Round of Applause for Calling the Cops on her Drunk-Driving Mom

It takes a lot of presence of mind to stand up to a drunk driver and tell them to pull over. It shouldn’t. Drunk driving is stupid and illegal and a monstrous crime that puts a lot of innocent people at risk, but for some reason it can be difficult to talk a drunk person away from the wheel. That’s why a Georgia community is hailing one teenage girl as a hero this week because she called 911 on a drunk driver who was not just any drunk driver, but her mom.

According to SheKnows, the 16-year-old was riding with her friends in the car when she noticed that her mom was driving messily. She asked her mom to pull over  multiple times, but her mom insisted that everything was fine and refused. When her mom wouldn’t pull over, the teenager did something very smart and very brave: She called 911 on her mom and reported her for drunk driving.

That’s pretty wonderful. Turning one’s parent into the police must be difficult. Her mother is certainly going to be angry about it. But the mother deserves her DUI, and one takes some small comfort in the idea that the mother might learn something from this experience.

If I were the parent of one of the other kids in that car, I’d be tempted to commit acts of violence against this woman who would drive drunk with my kid in the car.

I hope the mother does not attempt to punish her daughter, because this teenager did exactly what she should have in that situation. The only appropriate reaction from that mother is to beg forgiveness, thank her daughter for being responsible and mature, and promise to never, ever, ever do that again.

It must have been tough for that girl to decide to call the police and report her mom, who is now probably going to get a DUI. But she did exactly right. I’d hate for my kid to call the police on me, but if I were doing something that deserved it–like this mother was–I certainly hope my kid would do so.

A person who drives drunk is not just taking a risk with their own life. They’re risking all the people on the road or streets due to their own jackassery. Drunk driving is a monstrous crime and this teenager is smart and brave for turning in her mom.