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Every day is a good day to drink responsibly. Special holidays such as New Year’s Eve, however, are an especially important time to monitor not only yourself, but also your buddies. Drunk driving is a huge problems on these holidays (check out the stats here). We’ve compiled a list of tips and resources to help you prevent drunk driving this New Year’s Eve.
Plan to stay overnight.
Turn the evening into a special event. Grab all your friends and block out a set of hotel rooms within walking distance of your favorite bars.
Talk to your kids.
Underage drinking tends to occur in binge episodes, and teenagers with little drinking experience might think they are okay to drive even when they are not. Anheuser-Busch offers a pretty cool resource called Family Talk About Drinking to help you out. You can find it here.
Plan a sober ride.
This is just about the oldest trick in the book. That’s because it is completely foolproof. Have one member of your party to commit to not drinking for the night. Turn this into a rotating tradition with your NYE crew.
Call a cab.
With resources such as Uber, Lyft, traditional cabs, and the Bud Light Taxi App, there’s no reason you can’t get home. Check out Drink & Drive Intelligently, who can bring both you and your car home. Plan to put this information in your phone ahead of time, so you’ll be more likely to use it.
Promote a safe drinking culture.
Don’t be afraid to speak up or leave if you feel the drinking culture has become unsafe. Taking shots with the goal of blacking out tends to not be a good (or safe) idea.
Report drunk driving.
If you see a drunk driver, you should call them in regardless of whether you were endangered. You could be saving someone else’s life. The Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety tells you how to report a drunk driver: If you see erratic driving (swerving, driving too slow, etc.); find a safe place to call 911. Be prepared to provide location, driver behavior, and most importantly, a license plate.
Avoid driving around bar close.
Bar close tends to be a busy time on the road, especially for people who have been drinking. Avoid the traffic of bar-close by heading out early or walking home (if you’re nearby).
Get your tires and brakes checked.
As much as you don’t want to imagine an collision with a drunk driver, you could be better off if your car is functioning properly.