As the
calendar year winds down, the holiday festivities start up. Make sure you stay
off Santa’s “naughty” list: Always choose sober driving, and always plan a safe
ride home before you party. To help keep Americans safe on the roads, the Van
Buren County Sheriff’s Office and SAFE Coalition are teaming up with the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this
holiday season to remind all drivers about the dangers of drinking and driving.
With holiday festivities and office parties taking place, it’s essential to
plan a sober ride home before ever leaving for the event. So this holiday
season, as you head out for a night of merry-making, remember: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.
The holidays
are a time of joy and reflection, but also a time to use extra caution on the
roads. Unfortunately, alcohol at many holiday events contributes to the number
of impaired drivers on our roadways. Help us spread the message: Even one drink
is one drink too many. If you feel buzzed, you are already drunk.
According to
NHTSA, 37,133 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2017, and 29
percent (10,874) of those fatalities occurred in crashes in which a driver had
a blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit of .08 grams per deciliter.
The holidays prove to be extra dangerous to drivers as more people—drivers and
pedestrians alike—are out on the roads.
We want to
keep our roads safe this holiday season and help people understand that the
only time they should be behind the wheel is when they are sober. It doesn’t
matter if you’re male or female, or how much you weigh, alcohol affects everyone
differently, and you do not have to be feeling or acting drunk to be too impaired
to drive.
Drunk
driving isn’t the only risk on the road: Drug-impaired driving is also an
increasing problem on our nation’s roads. If drivers are impaired by any
substance—alcohol or drugs—they should not get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Driving while impaired is illegal, period. The bottom line is this: If You Feel Different, You Drive Different.
It’s that simple.
Drinking and
driving should never be combined. It’s essential to plan a sober ride in
advance if the holiday celebration will include alcohol. The alternative could
change your life, not to mention the lives of your passengers, pedestrians, or other
drivers and passengers nearby.
This holiday
season, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, SAFE Coalition and NHTSA urge
drivers to designate a sober driver before heading out for the evening. If you
plan on drinking, plan on not driving. First and foremost: Plan ahead. Be
honest with yourself: You know whether you’ll attend a party. If you plan to
drink, plan for a sober driver to take you home. Is it your turn to be the
designated driver? Take that role seriously—your friends are relying on you.
·
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 a ride service to get home
safely.
·
Download
NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, available on Google Play: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhtsa.SaferRide&hl=en), or the iTunes
Store: (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saferride/id950774008?mt=8). SaferRide allows
users to call a predetermined friend, and identifies the user’s location so they
can be picked up.
·
If
you see a drunk driver on the road, contact the Van Buren County Sheriff’s
Office.
·
Have
a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make
arrangements to get your friend home safely.
Remember to
play it safe this holiday season and always plan your sober ride before the
festivities begin. If you are buzzed, do not drive. Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.
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