2017 Holiday Campaign

The holiday season is a time full of parties and festivities, but that also means more drunk drivers are on the roadways. With the excitement of holiday celebrations, partygoers might find themselves “buzzed” after having just a drink or two—and without a sober ride home. Law enforcement actively looks for drunk drivers around the holidays. Just one drink can impair your judgment and increase your risk of getting arrested for driving drunk—or worse, causing a crash if you’re behind the wheel. Many factors determine the effect alcohol has on your body, and it can vary depending on factors such as your weight and when you last ate. This holiday, remember: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. If you plan to go out and enjoy the evening with alcohol, make sure you refrain from driving. Review these facts and share the word about the dangers of drunk driving.

Stay Off Santa’s Naughty List: Don’t Drink and Drive.

This holiday season, Vermont Law Enforcement Agencies are partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over drunk-driving enforcement campaign to help keep impaired drivers off the road. The campaign runs from December 13th to December 31st, 2017.
According to NHTSA, 37,461 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2016, and 28 percent (10,497) of those fatalities occurred in a crash during which a driver had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over the legal limit of .08.
According to NHTSA, 781 people lost their lives in traffic crashes involving a drunk driver during the month of December 2016.
From 2012 to 2016, there were 3,995 people killed in December crashes that involved drivers with BACs over the legal limit of .08.

Drinking and Driving Will Cost You—Possibly Your Life.

On average, a DUI can set you back $10,000 in attorney fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing and repairs, and more.
The financial impact from impaired driving crashes is devastating. Based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), impaired-driving crashes cost the United States $44 billion annually.

Plan a Safe Ride Home Ahead of Time—This Holiday Season, and All Year Round.

First: Plan ahead. You know whether you’ll attend a party. 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—your friends are relying on you.
Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve only had one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get home safely.
Download NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, available on Google Play for Android devices: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhtsa.SaferRide&hl=en), and Apple’s iTunes Store for iOS devices: (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saferride/id950774008?mt=8). SaferRide allows users to call a taxi or a predetermined friend, and identifies the user’s location so he or she can be picked up.
Use a Designated Driver.
If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact the Local Law Enforcement.
Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get them home safely. Don’t worry about offending someone—they’ll thank you later.

Keep your holidays happy and safe by letting someone sober do the driving. Remember: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.