What’s a New Year’s Eve celebration without a few glasses of champagne?
This is the season to celebrate, but the holidays mean more than an upswing in good cheer and liquor sales—they also herald an annual epidemic of drunk driving. According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drunk-driving related fatal crashes rise significantly in the two-week period around Christmas and New Year’s Eve. In 2011, 9,878 people were killed in drunk driving crashes, including 395 during the second half of December alone. On average, there are 36 fatalities on America’s roadways every day. During Christmas the average rises to 45 daily deaths and jumps to 54 on New Year’s Eve. It seems that long car trips to see family combined with feasts and drinking are the perfect recipe for drunk driving.
So instead of risking your life and the lives of others this holiday season, here are some alternatives to drunk driving:
- Have a designated driver
- Use public transportation
- Get a hotel or spend the night wherever you are
- Walk if possible
- Call a cab. Many cities offer free cab rides on New Year’s Eve and other major holidays.
