Don't Drive Buzzed this Holiday Season

Here’s a holiday tip: If you can’t sing and dance at the same time, you’re probably to buzzed to drive home from that holiday party. Buzzed driving IS drunk driving.    

According to the National Ad Council, approximately 10,500 people died last year as a result of alcohol impaired driving.  The holiday season is notorious for driving buzzed with higher incidences of drunk driving related crashes than any other time of the year.  Whether you’re stumbling out the door after burning the yule log late into the night, or finally abandoning that New Year’s party at 3 am, make sure you designate a sober friend to cart you to your front door.  

To help you stay safe for the holiday season, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council are offering these safety tips and tools to avoid getting behind the wheel while under the influence of some extra “holiday cheer.”

• Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin.
• Before you begin drinking, designate a driver and make sure you leave your car keys at home.
• If you’re already buzzed, call a taxi, a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, pull over, and call local law enforcement immediately.  Remember Scotch Plains, are participating in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, with check points established in the area. For more on that story, .
• Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving. If you know that fellow party goers are too drunk to drive home or about to get into a car with someone who is too buzzed to drive, take the driver’s keys and help them make other arrangements to get home safely.
• Visit the Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving website and play “Spot the Difference,” an interactive game that simulates the effects of buzzed driving; and watch a real-life video about how buzzed driving changed one woman’s life.

The National Ad Council has created a Facebook tab that lists safe rides or “Sober Sam” in your area to help you get home safely. For Union County, contact Sober Sam at 856-520-5679 between the hours of 12p.m. and 4a.m. and ride home in your own car. You can also visit sobersam.com to learn more.