From SAFE COMMUNITIES OF WOOD COUNTY
Every year, the 4th of July is our holiday to celebrate freedom with fireworks surrounded by family, friends and food. In conjunction with this holiday, impaired driving-related fatalities spike and the 4th of July is consistently one of the holiday periods with the highest number of impaired driving-related crash fatalities each year.
The financial impact from impaired-driving crashes is devastating. Crashes in which alcohol was the cause resulted in $57 billion in economic costs. Drinking and driving is a risk no one should take. The consequences of drunk or drugged driving could be life-altering.
Reminders as you celebrate this holiday season:
- Always drive 100% sober. Even one alcoholic beverage could be one too many. It doesn’t matter what term you use — high, stoned, or wasted — never get behind the wheel after using an impairing substance.
- Plan ahead: Before you have even one drink, designate a sober driver to get you home safely. If you wait until you’ve been drinking to make this decision, you might not make the best one. If you have used an impairing substance such as marijuana, do not drive.
- Drunk driving, it is essential that drug-impaired drivers refrain from driving a vehicle. It is never okay to drive while impaired by any substance — regardless of whether it was legally obtained.
- You have options to get home safely: designate a sober driver or call a taxi or rideshare. Getting home safely is always worth it.
- If it’s your turn to be the designated driver, take your job seriously and don’t drink. Do you have a friend who is about to drive while impaired by drugs? Take the keys away and arrange to get them home safely. Don’t worry about offending someone — they’ll thank you later. And you might just save a life.
- If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact #677 or 911.
