Police departments all over Alabama are planning for a productive holiday season – stopping, testing, and arresting drivers who are over the limit. Police are ramping up the number of officers on the road in 67 Alabama counties, starting on Black Friday and continuing throughout the Christmas season and into the New Year.
The crackdown is in response to the increase in drunk driving car accidents that occur over the holiday season. You can count on Alabama police officers having a significant presence, lying in wait and ready to stop and test any driver exhibiting drunk-driving behavior.
Designated Drivers for Holiday Celebrations
Planning ahead for holiday celebrations regarding alcohol and driving is very important. If you’re planning on having a few alcoholic drinks, make sure you have a designated driver. Morris, King & Hodge, P.C., is providing the Huntsville community with our Driver Safety Taxi & Tow Service during New Year’s celebrations to help people who didn’t plan ahead by securing a designated driver get home safely.
Keep Your Party Guests Safe
If you are hosting a holiday party, you have a duty to your guests and their safety. A drunk guest can not be allowed to get behind the wheel of a car, and you, as the host, might be dealing with the challenge of a guest who is undoubtedly over the limit and wishes to drive home. Put a plan in place in advance. You can make it enjoyable by gathering car keys as your visitors show up, unless they actually have a designated driver in their group.
You set the tone and make it clear that you will not allow anyone to drive home drunk, and just in case, you’ll have the Driver Safety Taxi & Tow Service to get in touch with. It would be terrible to experience the guilt of permitting a friend or family member to drive off who was later on killed in a drunk driving car accident, or who caused a crash where others were hurt or killed.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving provides us with the following tips to help prevent a friend or family member from drinking and driving:
- Be as non-confrontational as possible.
- Suggest alternate ways of getting to their destination — a cab, a sober driver, public transportation.
- Remember that the person you are talking to is impaired — talk a bit more slowly and explain things more fully than if you were speaking to a sober person.
- Explain that you don’t want them to drive because you care and you don’t want them to hurt themselves or others.
- Suggest that they sleep over.
- Enlist a friend to help you or to act as moral support — it’s more difficult to say “no” to two (or three or four) people than one.
- If possible, get the person’s keys. It is far easier to persuade the potential driver when you hold this leverage.
- If all else fails, call law enforcement. It’s better to have a friend arrested than injured or killed.
Share this infographic today with your friends & family to remind everyone of the dangers of drinking and driving during the holidays and take advantage of Morris, King & Hodge, P.C.’s Driver Safety Taxi & Tow Service to arrive home alive for the New Year.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident by a drunk driver in Alabama, please don’t hesitate to contact our law office to get the help, support, and compensation you deserve.
