A Message From our Board:

The holiday season is supposed to be a time for family, friends, and festive celebrations, but it is unfortunately also a time when there is a tragic jump in the number of alcohol-related highway fatalities each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

That is why The Hardwick Area Community Coalition 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 during the holiday season. Other important reminders include:

• Never get behind the wheel of your vehicle if you’ve been out drinking;

• If impaired, call 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.

Every day, almost 30 people in the United States 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. In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Of the 1,314 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2009, 181 (14%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver. Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol. http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

Thankfully, there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving. 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.

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 really significant and not the way you want to spend your holiday season.

HACC wishes you a happy & safe Holiday Season.