Don’t ruin the holidays by driving drunk or buzzed
Heightened enforcement planned
Don’t become a statistic for the holidays.
This Thanksgiving holiday, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement across Warren County are teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to make sure you make it to the Thanksgiving table. With the Thanksgiving holiday kicking off a celebratory time of year, it’s essential to take some time to remember that Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.
If your plans to celebrate include alcohol, arrange for a sober driver.
Drunken driving-related crashes spike during the Thanksgiving holiday season. According to NHTSA, 185 people were killed during the 2020 Thanksgiving period (6 p.m. Wednesday, November 25 through 5:59 a.m. Monday, November 30). Tragically, from 2016-2020, 821 people died in alcohol-impaired crashes during the entire Thanksgiving holiday period.
This is why Warren County law enforcement is working together with partners such as NHTSA to remind drivers that drunken driving is not only illegal, it is a matter of life and death. Law enforcement agencies around New York will work with increased patrols during the holiday periods.
“We know friends and families will be especially excited to gather around the Thanksgiving table this year,” said Warren County Undersheriff Terry Comeau. “Unfortunately, drunken driving is a real threat to our community, and that threat increases during holidays like Thanksgiving. Driving drunk is deadly and illegal, and no one should ever take that risk.”
“Drunken driving is not acceptable behavior, especially when there are so many safe alternatives to get you home safely,” said Kevin Geraghty, Chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors.
Warren County STOP DWI Program and NHTSA are reminding citizens of the many resources available to get them home safely, such as rideshare programs like Uber and Lyft, taxicabs and designated drivers.
Warren County STOP-DWI Program recommends these safe alternatives to drinking and driving:
- Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use a ride service, call a taxi or a sober friend to get home safely.
- If available, use a community sober ride program. The Have-a-Plan application in the iPhone and Android stores can help with arranging one.
- If you see a drunken driver on the road, call 911
- Do you have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.
By working together, we can save lives and help keep America’s roadways safe. Please join us in sharing the lifesaving message Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving during the holiday weekend.
For more information, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving or www.warrencountyny.gov/trafficsafety.