2021 Holiday Season Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is teaming up with the law enforcement community nationwide during the 2021 Holiday Season Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility enforcement campaign, which runs from December 15, 2021, through January 1, 2022. NHTSA and the Lake Clarke Shores Police Department are working tirelessly to spread the word about the dangers of drunk driving and to remind all drivers: If you plan to drink alcohol, plan ahead for a sober ride home. These expanded efforts to protect against impaired driving will be conducted in a fair and equitable way.
Sobering Statistics
- According to NHTSA, 837 people lost their lives in traffic crashes involving a drunk driver in December 2019.
- During the 2019 Christmas (6 p.m. Tuesday, December 24 to 5:59 a.m. Thursday, December 26) and New Year’s Day (6 p.m. Friday, December 28, 2018, to 5:59 a.m. Wednesday, January 2, 2019) holiday periods, there were more drunk-driving-related fatalities (210) than during any other holiday period that year.
- Approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (with blood alcohol concentrations [BACs] at or above .08 grams per deciliter [g/dL]). In 2019, there were 10,142 people killed in drunk-driving crashes.
Always remember to plan ahead if you will be celebrating. If you plan to drink, plan for a sober driver to take you home. Is it your turn to be the designated driver? Take that role seriously and do not consume alcohol, not even one drink.
