Season’s Greetings! During this festive time of year, you will likely be spreading cheer at a number of holiday parties. With these gatherings usually comes an alcoholic beverage or two. December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and we want you to get home safely, so here are a few suggestions on how to celebrate responsibly. You’ll certainly make Santa’s “nice” list if you follow these rules!

Find a Designated Driver

Choosing a designated driver is a cost-effective solution for getting home after drinking. However, it is vital to make this decision in advance. Take turns so that everyone shares the responsibility and has a chance to enjoy themselves this holiday season. For example, your friend might be the designated driver for the Christmas party while you’re the DD for the News Year’s party.

Make sure that you remember your etiquette lessons if someone else is driving. If the gathering is far away, offer to share the cost of gas. Also remember to watch your volume level if your driver is taking multiple people. You want to be sure your driver is not distracted by the passengers.

Use a Transportation App

You’ve likely heard of Uber, the app for on-demand car service, but check out these other apps that allow you to book a ride from your phone. While transportation apps are becoming a popular alternative to calling a cab, remember that you might be waiting a while on a night like New Year’s Eve.

  • Lyft: request a ride through the app and get picked up by one of Lyft’s community drivers. While these drivers aren’t professionals, they have passed a phone screen, an in-person meeting, and had their background and DMV records checked. Lyft cars are outfitted with a pink mustache on the front of the car and drivers also greet passengers with a fist-bump. Passengers are urged to sit in the front seat and chat with the driver instead of sitting in the back of the vehicle.

 

  •  Sidecar: Like Uber and Lyft, but rates are generally lower. While an average ride costs $20 with Uber and $15 with Lyft, according to their website, Sidecar runs around $9-$12. Sidecar allows you to choose a ride based on price so that you know what you’ll be spending before you even book the ride. Like Lyft, drivers are not professionals.

 

Know Your Numbers

Learning drunk driving statistics will make you think twice before you get behind the wheel after drinking. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is sponsoring the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign from December 12th to January 1st. We encourage you to take the pledge to only drive sober while here, but we’ve also listed a few stats to get you thinking:

  • Drunk driving crashes cause 28 deaths every day in America
  • Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash
  • In 2012, 10,322 people were killed on U.S. roadways due to impaired driving

 

We hope that these suggestions will help you make smart decisions this holiday season. While attending your parties, remember to drink your eggnog and other alcoholic beverages in moderation and make plans to get home safely at the end of the night. CARCHEX wishes you a very happy (and safe!) holiday season.