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Plan a Sober Ride This Holiday Season

Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (December 21, 2016) – This holiday season, Atrium Medical Center’s Warren County Safe Communities Coalition is teaming up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to remind all drivers that “Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving” and to always plan a sober ride before the holiday parties begin. 

“Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving” is a nationwide impaired driving campaign to inform all Americans about the dangers of driving after drinking. During the holiday season, festive parties and celebrations with alcohol contribute to the number of impaired drivers on our roadways. 

“We want to keep our roads safe this holiday season and help people understand that the only time they should be behind the wheel is when they are sober,” said Mason Police Officer Eric Fitzgerald. “Alcohol affects people differently, and you don’t have to be feeling or acting drunk to be too impaired to drive.”

Drunk driving kills thousands of people in the U.S. every year. In 2015, 35,092 people were killed nationwide in motor vehicle traffic crashes on our roadways, and 29 percent (10,265) died in crashes that involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit of .08, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This time of year is especially dangerous. In December 2015 alone, there were 840 people killed in crashes involving at least one drunk driver or motorcycle operator, according to the federal traffic safety agency. 

“Don’t allow yourself to become a statistic because you failed to plan ahead,” said Mandy Wells, trauma outreach coordinator for Atrium Medical Center and coordinator of Warren County Safe Communities.  

This holiday season, the Warren County Safe Communities Coalition urges you to designate a sober driver before drinking. If you plan on drinking at all, plan not to drive. 

The Warren County coalition—whose members include Atrium Medical Center, Warren County law enforcement agencies, local government agencies and Ohio State Highway Patrol— focuses on motor vehicle and traffic safety awareness initiatives. Follow Warren County Safe Communities Coalition on Facebook.

Atrium Medical Center is a full-service hospital and Level III Trauma Center located conveniently along the Interstate 75 corridor at exit 32, One Medical Center Drive in Middletown, between Cincinnati and Dayton. The hospital is the city of Middletown’s second largest employer of more than 1,500 people in full-time, part-time and on-call positions. Atrium is operated by the Dayton-based nonprofit Premier Health system.

Tips to Avoid an OVI and Keep Roads Safe 

• Even one drink can impair your judgment and reaction time and increase the risk of getting arrested for driving drunk or causing a crash. 
• If you will be drinking, don’t plan on driving; designate a sober driver before the party begins. 
• If you have been drinking, do not drive—even a short distance. Call a taxi, a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• Help others be responsible. If you see someone you think is about to drive while impaired, take their keys, take them home, and help them arrange a safe ride home. 
• If you see a driver on the road that appears to be intoxicated, contact police when it is safe to do so. Your actions could help save a life. 

SOURCE: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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