Impaired Driving Awareness for 2016 Holiday Season

HPD will be out in force from Dec. 14, 2016 through Jan. 1, 2017 as part of a special year-end Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement to help keep impaired drivers off the road.

The holiday season can be the deadliest time of year when it comes to drunk driving.

DUI Checkpoints to Increase During Holiday Season. File Photo

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that any decision to drive while impaired can have serious and even deadly consequences.

National Facts & Statistics:

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 35,092 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2015, and 29% (10,265) of those fatalities died in a crash where involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over the limit of .08.
• That same year, 840 people lost their lives in drunk-driving-related crashes in the month of December alone.
• From 2011-2015, twenty-eight percent (3,983) of all people who lost their lives in a traffic crash during the month of December died in a crash that involved a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher.

ADVICE FOR READERS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Plan Before You Party:

• Plan a safe way home before the fun begins.
• Designate a sober driver or use public transportation to get home safely.
• Download the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) SaferRide app, available for Android and Apple. The app can help users call a taxi or a friend for a ride home, and help you identify your location so you can be picked up.

Important Things to Remember:

• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride after drinking, be strong—take the keys and make arrangements to help them get safely to their destination.
• The average DUI costs $10,000, making it difficult to recover financially.
• Arrested drunk drivers face jail time, the loss of their driver licenses, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other hefty expenses, from car towing and repairs to attorney fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, and more.

Don’t put yourself, your passengers and others at risk this holiday season by driving after drinking.

Drunk driving is never worth the risk. Hand the keys to a sober driver or face the consequences. Remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.