My old friend Brice had always been a daredevil. When I was 14, he was the kid who would pick up his girlfriend and I as we snuck out from our parents’ houses late at night.

Soon after, he bought a Ducati motorcycle and raced the thing until it was totaled. He was what he would call a “nerdbasket,” but decided to go for the most sought-after girl in our high school – and got her.

He accepted any challenge. And he wasn’t afraid to show any of his scars.

So it came as a shock to all of us when Brice’s death on Dec. 30, 2008 was the result of an unchallenged risk – a drunk driver.

He and two friends were returning from an alleged night of bar-hopping, and were driving on a main Atlanta road when the vehicle crashed into a large brick mailbox.

My friends and I immediately entered Kubler-Ross’ second stage of grief: we were furious.

It was a difficult emotion, because the driver was our friend too – a good person who we love and knew had no ill intentions.

But as I sat across the aisle from Brice’s sister and mother at his funeral, and felt my friend’s tear-soaked hands on mine, it really occurred to me how much blame there was to place – yes on the driver, but also on the state of Georgia.

According to alcoholalert.com, 32 percent of all 2006 Georgia driving fatalities were alcohol related. (The actual amount was 539 deaths.)

This number sounds relatively small until the percentage is compared with that of other states – especially states with well-established public transit systems.

In New York City, for example, where the Metropolitan Transit Authority says that more than 5 million people use the subway every day, the percentage of alcohol-related fatalities decreases to 27 percent. (Actual amount: 483.)

In California, where Los Angeles’ public transit is comparable to that of Atlanta, 32 percent yielded more than 1,500 deaths.

Allow me to state the obvious: cities with more accessible and practical public transit options yield less alcohol-related driving fatalities.

And without them, it only makes sense why Georgia’s young adults are choosing to drive home intoxicated.

Using drunk logic, choose one of the following options:

A) Call an expensive cab. (Have you ever taken an Atlanta taxi across town? Believe me – it isn’t cheap.)

B) Sleep at drunken location.

C) Call mom at 3 a.m.

D) Risk it.

Although I’m not attempting to justify option D, I just want to emphasize how limited our options are. Because Atlanta’s MARTA system operates in only a dysfunctional X-shape, it is mainly used by commuters with no other mode.

It is also highly inaccessible to Atlanta neighborhoods, especially those of the middle and upper classes.

In Athens, this is only compounded when our city bus routes stop at 11 p.m. and our campus transit won’t cross Broad Street.

Although any options to ameliorate this problem would be immediately disbanded because of budget cuts, it’s impossible to ignore that the University also doesn’t want to support transportation to the Athens bar scene.

But at the same time, this means it is not supporting a safe ride home.

We can try to limit the amount of alcohol consumed by young adults and even underage teens, but giving them safer options to get home would be a much more progressive line of thought.

And imagine, if there were an accessible alternative to getting behind the wheel, the dangers of drunk driving would be taken much more seriously.

Because Georgia drivers have gotten away with it so many times prior (I’m talking to my PEERS, here), it’s only natural that they will continue to do so until a lesson is learned the hard way.

Because legislators face a deficit close to $2 billion for 2009, it is less likely than ever that the transportation problems in cities such as Atlanta and Los Angeles will improve.

Although I sincerely believe that better transit systems would reduce drunk driving incidents, I know we will not see change any time soon – if ever.

So I also want this column to serve as a salute to those who, in the past, have helped a friend get home safely – or even just know better than to take such a risk.

It’s unfortunate that our options are so limited that these efforts can now be seen as commendable.

- Chelsea Cook is the managing editor of The Red & Black.