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Officials partner to raise awareness of dangers of drunk driving at the holidays
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The holiday season is supposed to be a time for family, friends and festive celebrations. Unfortunately, each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s it is also a time when there is a tragic jump in the number of alcohol-related highway fatalities.
Since 1981, every President of the United States has proclaimed December “National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month” to help underscore the public’s commitment to preventing impaired driving and promoting the use of designated drivers and sober ride programs.
The month of December and the New Year’s Eve holiday are also often highlighted by significant increases in state and local law enforcement efforts to combat impaired driving such as the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.
The California Highway Patrol reported that in Lake County over the past two years there have been five fatalities and 96 injuries due to alcohol-impaired driving crashes.
Impaired driving is one of America’s deadliest problems. In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31 percent) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
Every day almost 30 people die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes.
The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $51 billion. The cost of a person’s first DUI, without a crash or any injury, is estimated to be $8000.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about three in every 10 Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives.
Lake County Alcohol and Other Drug Services is joining with other national, state and local highway safety and law enforcement officials to remind everyone this holiday season to always designate a sober driver before each holiday party or event involving alcohol.
Remembering to designate a sober driver before the party begins is just one of several, simple steps to help avoid a tragic crash or an arrest for impaired driving.
Other important reminders include:
- Never get behind the wheel of your vehicle if you’ve been drinking, buzzed driving is drunk driving;
- If impaired, call a taxi – use mass transit if available – or call a sober friend or family member to come and get you;
- Or, just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober.
- If you are hosting a party this holiday season, remind your guests to always plan ahead to designate a sober driver, always offer alcohol-free beverages during the event, and make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver; and
- Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Take the keys and never let a friend leave your sight if you think they are about to drive while impaired.
Driving impaired or riding with someone who is impaired is simply not worth the risk.
The consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be significant and not the way you want to spend your holiday season.
So remember, this holiday season, if you catch a buzz, catch a ride.
For more information or if you have questions please contact Lake County Behavioral Health in Lakeport at 707-994-6494 or in Lucerne at 707-274-9101.