According to New York Times, New Years Day is the single worst day of the entire year when it comes to deadly drunk driving accidents. In general, more deadly crashes involving impaired drivers happen on New Years Day than on any other day of the year. While there may be some fluctuation in this figure depending upon the year, New Years always sees a disproportionate share of DUI accident fatalities compared to other days of the year. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day also tend to be higher risk times when it comes to impaired driving, as compared with non-holiday periods.
Because there are so many intoxicated motorists on the road around the holiday season, it becomes imperative for motorists to make smart choices about their driving behavior. You want to avoid becoming involved in a holiday crash and you should take steps to prevent holiday accidents in order to try to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
New York Times reported on data from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The data underscores just how serious the risk of impaired driving is on New Years Eve. According to the IIHS data, approximately half of all of the fatal crashes which occur in the U.S. on New Years Day involve a driver who is considered to be legally drunk, as defined by having a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater.
You do not want to become one of these statistics. The good news is, you can significantly reduce your chances of a DUI crash simply by not drinking before you get behind the wheel. It is simple: sober driving can save lives. While you cannot stop other people from driving drunk and potentially causing you harm, you can control your own behavior.
You need to make a commitment that if you are planning to party on New Years Eve, New Years Day, or any other day of the year, you will not drive after drinking. If you know you are going to want to consume alcohol, get the number of a taxi, download the app for car sharing service, arrange a designated driver, or do all of the above. You should have a plan, and ideally a backup plan, for how you are going to get home before you start to drink.
If you are celebrating with friends or having a party at your home over New Years (or Christmas) you also have a responsibility to make sure those who you are celebrating with make the smart choice and stay sober. If someone you know is about to get into the car and drive drunk, take their keys away and offer to let them stay at your house or to take them home (or if you are sober). You can also offer assistance in securing a car service to come and get them... just find some solution to prevent the drunk driving so your friend doesn't become a New Years DUI accident statistic.