Erin Yarwood is a journalism senior and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
In San Luis Obispo, a college night out downtown or at a house party often ends with a decision between an expensive Uber, trying to bike or walk home after drinks or just driving carefully. As much as it’s ingrained in college students to make the smart choice, impaired driving is happening in San Luis Obispo, and it’s unfortunately not always seen as a big deal.
Impaired driving remains a significant public health concern among adults in college in many college towns. According to the National Institutes of Health, college students are particularly vulnerable due to high levels of alcohol consumption and strong peer influence. All of that results in a culture where drinking and driving is easy to rationalize.
The consequences can be detrimental. Christian Ortega, a business administration senior, is just one Cal Poly community member who has personally felt the impact. Ortega met his friend, Michael, in sixth grade and went to high school with him. He describes Michael as a “very funny and kind person”.
In May 2024, the Tesla Michael was riding in crashed into a power pole in Pasadena, tragically killing three of the passengers, including Michael. He had been seated in the back and was ejected from the vehicle upon impact.
In San Luis Obispo, the problem is all too present, and the set up of the town can make it worse. With a downtown area that tends to be a bit far to walk from student housing near campus, a car is the best way to get between the nightlife and home.
This, combined with limited night public transit, Uber prices that surge out of nowhere and not enough safe alternatives to get home, increases driving under the influence. Most students have a story about weighing the cost of an Uber versus the risk of a buzzed ride home.
But driving under the influence isn’t the only dangerous behavior that college students in SLO engage in. Some just hop on bikes after drinking. Cycling under the influence can result in fines and marks on your driving record.
Both SLOPD and Cal Poly PD report steady DUI numbers each year, and that includes bike and scooter incidents. The SLOPD’s annual reports highlight ongoing DUI enforcement efforts. Similarly, the CPPD actively engages in DUI education and prevention initiatives.
At its core, normalizing impaired driving is extremely dangerous, but it’s preventable. As student culture is partly responsible for this normalization, it is up to us to change that.
To help prevent more impaired driving accidents, Ortega, along with his partners, Hannah Tam, Nico DiFerdinando and Angie Ho, created Bandit, a rideshare alternative that runs during peak party hours and offers free or low-cost rides home.
After seeing Michael’s mother in so much pain after losing her oldest son on Mother’s Day, Ortega created Bandit specifically catered towards younger people. His goal is to prevent that kind of tragedy from happening again, especially in places where “this kind of thing gets shrugged off.”
“I wanted to create a solution to drunk driving on college campuses and in the nightlife scene.,” Ortega said. “I saw a gap in the current industry, and I was pretty disappointed with the current options for getting around.”
Efforts like Bandit and challenging the casual attitude toward drunk scootering or biking is more than harm reduction, it’s a step toward redefining what it means to party responsibly.
It’s time to rethink what responsibility looks like in a college town. When public efforts through Cal Poly and the SLOPD are already being carried on, it’s up to students to shift the culture.
