Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: Be Safe During the Holidays

When it comes to alcohol consumption and driving – it’s all bad news. Alcohol slows reflexes, impairs judgement, blurs vision, shrinks peripheral vision, diminishes night vision, decreases the ability to judge distance, and diminishes night vision. All of these increase the chance of a being involved in an alcohol-related car crash.

The holiday season is often a joyous time for family and friends. Sadly, the increased festivities also mean an increased number of impaired drivers traveling on our roadways. Driving drunk is a deadly choice that too often carries deadly consequences. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drunk-driving fatalities account for more than one-quarter of all vehicle-related fatalities. The choice should always be simple: never drive while impaired. Even one drink may be one too many.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), nationally drunk driving takes an innocent life every 50 minutes. That’s  a total of roughly 29 lives daily. The devastation is spread  even further, with someone being injured every two minutes.

Most of these senseless vehicle crashes could be avoided if impaired drivers simply do not get behind the wheel. By making the choice to drink and drive, drunk drivers put themselves, their loved ones, and others at risk for injury or death. Choosing this behavior is selfish and reckless.

To help keep roads safe for holiday travelers, state and local law enforcement, in partnership with the NHTSA, will be looking for drunk drivers during a special Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization. The beefed up enforcement is taking place now, through December 31.

If you’re celebrating the holidays with alcohol, be a part of the solution by planning for a sober ride home ahead of time, and never risk driving after drinking. Here are a few tips that will help you stay safe:

• Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive.
• Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get home safely.
• Never ride in a car with someone who is intoxicated. If you have a friend who is about to drink and drive, take their keys, and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.
• Download the NHTSA’s Safer Ride mobile app, which allows users to call a taxi or a predetermined friend, and identifies the user’s location so he or she can be picked up.
• Save the phone number of AAA’s Tow to Go program, which helps prevent impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel and risking the lives of other motorists. According to AAA’s website it offers a free tow and ride for two people up to 10 miles, from Friday, December 22, to 6 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2, 2018. Call 855-2-TOW-2-GO or 855-286-9246, for more information.
• Immediately report impaired drivers to area law enforcement.
• Take the pledge: “None for the Road, One drink can be too many!”

Holiday festivities are meant to be enjoyed. If you choose to drink alcoholic beverages, do so responsibly – and never drive drunk. As you head out from your holiday parties, always remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Cindy Magnole, MSN, RN, is injury prevention coordinator at Jackson Memorial Hospital.