LatinaLista — According to Urban Dictionary, the phrase “Dead Man Walking” has multiple meanings — all meaning basically the same thing.
Yet, one trauma surgeon is adding a new definition to the list.
Dr. Thomas Esposito at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill equates drunk walking with dead man walking. News reports of people who are drunk staggering to their deaths is, unfortunately, not uncommon: the drunken cruise ship passenger who disappears overboard; the drunken college student who falls to their death from a balcony; the drunken bar hopper who takes a wrong turn walking home and ends up falling into a body of water and drowns, the drunken partygoer who wanders into traffic, — you get the picture.
What makes Dr. Esposito particularly nervous during this time of the year is that New Year’s Day is more deadly for pedestrians, on both sides of the steering wheel, than any other day of the year, according to the journal Injury Prevention. While getting the message that alcohol and driving don’t mix, Dr. Esposito wants people to know that alcohol and walking are also a deadly mix, especially since more people walk drunk than drive drunk.
As with driving, there are certain precautions everyone can take if they think they will be drunk walking:
- Wear light clothing so drivers can see you.
- Walk only on the sidewalks and cross at designated crosswalks
- Have a designated escort and walk with a group or a buddy.
- If possible, grab a pillow and spend the night and leave the next morning.
