Georgia Injury Law Blog
Safe Driving on New Year’s Eve
Few holidays are more universally celebrated than New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, the holiday sees a dramatic uptick in the number of accidents, especially those involving alcohol and speeding. According to some estimates, Americans are much more likely to drink over New Year’s Eve than any other time of the year. In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports that an average of 300 people die nationally between the week of Christmas and New Year. That makes the streets of Georgia especially dangerous to be on this time of year.
Celebrating responsibly should be a no-brainer, but far too many people ignore basic safety precautions, and end up causing injuries not just to themselves, but also to other motorists on the road. This New Year’s eve, take steps to avoid becoming just another drunk driving accident statistic.
Make sure that you are not on the road while under the influence of alcohol. Basically, do not drink and drive. Remember, driving on December 31st requires you to be more alert than other time of the year since you’ll be sharing the road with many other motorists who are likely intoxicated. Defensive driving will be key, and that is going to be harder if you are driving after having had a few drinks.
If you plan to drink during your New Year celebrations, plan ahead. This is key to avoiding a possibly dangerous accident on New Year’s Eve.
Make sure that you have a designated driver. If that’s not possible, arrange for a limousine, or a taxi service that to take you and your friends to your destination and back home safely. With ride sharing services like Uber so readily available, there is simply no excuse for anyone to go out driving after a few drinks. The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration also offers a SaferRide app to help an intoxicated driver call a friend or a taxi to be picked up. Another possible option is to book a hotel to stay overnight. That way no one will be in a position to have to drive home while intoxicated.
If you’re hosting a party, there are several things you can do to be a responsible host. Look into arranging for your guests to stay over so that they can avoid driving home in a compromised state. Be sure to offer plenty of nonalcoholic drink options. Serve plenty of food at your event to prevent guests from drinking excessively. Shut down the bar well before the celebrations wind down in order to avoid your guests staggering out of your event in an intoxicated state. Find out about guests’ plans for getting home safely after your event. You could, for example, include in the RSVP details about how you plan to help guests get home safely after the event.
Be sure to end this year safely so you can have a happy and prosperous new one.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent persons injured in alcohol-related accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia.