Safe Kids Carroll County: Drive sober to keep kids, everyone safe for the holidays

With the holiday season in full swing, the Safe Kids Carroll Coalition would like you to remember the importance of staying safe and sober behind the wheel. Not only to keep ourselves safe but also our loved ones, and our community. Every holiday season, lives are lost due to impaired drivers, and November through January is one of the deadliest times of the year to be on the road.

In the United States, 29 people die every day due to drinking and driving, which is one person every 48 minutes, and nearly 10,600 people a year. The amount of people injured each year from crashes involving drinking and driving is 27 times higher than those killed, adding up to 292,000 people injured a year. All of these deaths and injuries are ones that could have been prevented if people made the decision to not drive after drinking. Drinking and driving is a choice that can be avoided, and by doing so, lives can be saved.

Alcohol affects a person’s judgement, motor skills, coordination, vision, and reaction time, all of which are essential to being able to safely operate a vehicle. The more a person drinks, the more their ability to do these things is impacted and the more dangerous they are to themselves and others on the road. Driving while impaired is a dangerous crime that comes with consequences. In the United States, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher and doing so can result in hefty fines, points on your license, and even jail time. And those are just the legal consequences.

Here are eight things that you can do to help promote safety and prevent drunk driving this holiday season. Always remember, drive sober or get pulled over.

1. Before you start drinking, decide on a designated driver for the night.

2. If you know someone who has been drinking, do not let them drive. If needed, take away their keys and help them arrange a sober ride home.

3. If you drink, do not get behind the wheel. Instead, call a friend, a rideshare service, or a taxi.

4. Don’t get in the car with someone who isn’t sober. Even if they claim they are, if you saw them drinking and you’re not in a good condition to drive either, call a rideshare service, or taxi.

5. If you are hosting a socially- distanced and COVID-19 friendly event where alcohol is served, make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver and offer alcohol-free beverages as an alternative for designated drivers.

6. Always wear a seat belt. You can’t always control who is on the road, but by buckling up, you can help stay safe if you are in an accident due to someone else’s decision to drink and drive.

7. Talk to your friends and family about the dangers of drinking and driving.

8. If you are out driving and suspect another driver on the road of being drunk, call the police and provide the location you saw the driver, the direction the vehicle was headed, and the vehicles make, model, color and license plate.

Drive sober or get pulled over! For more information visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, www.nhtsa.gov.

Kylie Sturm is a Carroll County Health Department intern from Towson University.