New Year’s Eve is a holiday when people are excited about the prospect of starting afresh with another 365 days to achieve their goals. They also love getting together with their buddies and family members to celebrate.
Unfortunately, drinking at festive gatherings can get out of hand. When inebriated partygoers get behind the wheel, bad things can and do happen.
Drunk driving is certainly a problem at other times of the year, but it seems to intensify when revelry and drinking go hand-in-hand, as they usually do on New Year’s Eve.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 54 people die on average each New Year’s in alcohol-related car crashes.
What can you do to increase your safety on New Year’s Eve?
Assuming other drivers may be drunk is a good start. Here are some other ways to try and stay safe:
- This rule is the most crucial one of all – do not mix drinking and driving. Driving impaired is not a good strategy on a holiday or any other day.
- Don’t allow distractions to take your mind or eyes off driving. Cell phone calls and other non-essential activities can wait.
- If you join others to celebrate, don’t be in such a hurry to reach your destination that you drive too fast.
New Year’s Eve should be a time of pleasant anticipation and innocent fun. However, it sometimes turns grim when people are on the road after celebrating and drinking. If you are injured in a New Year’s Eve crash, you may be able to seek compensation, especially if the other driver was affected by alcohol.
