For some people, the winter holidays are the best time of the year. They love baking holiday cookies, decorating their homes, burning the Yule log and singing carols around a flickering fire. It truly can be a magical time of the year.
But there is a darker side to the holidays that many ignore. It’s a time when more people drink and drive. That, in turn, is combatted by increased patrols by law enforcement to reduce the number of deadly accidents on Minnesota roads. It is possible that you could be ensnared in that widened net if you drive after imbibing this holiday season.
Patrols fueled by deadly statistics
Police are under great pressure to reduce the number of drunken drivers on the roads during the winter holidays. On average, 300 lives are lost in drunk driving accidents just in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day alone.
In fact, alcohol-related deaths comprise over 25% of fatalities from wrecks. In one recent year, 781 people died in the month of December in accidents where at least one driver was drunk.
Campaign focuses on drunk driving
Each December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hits the airwaves and elsewhere with their media blitz to make drivers aware of the increased focus of law enforcement on rounding up impaired drivers to keep them from harming others. Known across the nation as Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, this safety campaign runs in the weeks leading up to Christmas and through New Year’s Eve.
Plan for a sober ride home from the festivities
People who would never get sloshed at a bar and drive home may think that they are safe to drive home from the office Christmas party. After all, they wouldn’t want their higher-ups to notice them stumbling into a taxi when the party breaks up. But that could wind up being the least of their concerns, as that move would indicate a use of good judgment.
Whereas getting pulled over by police two blocks from the office and being led to the police car in handcuffs is an indelible impression you won’t want your boss to have as they ride by in their own Uber piloted by a sober driver.
Keep your holidays happy
Plan for a sober ride home from every drinking engagement this holiday season. But if you wind up stopped by police regardless, remember to exercise your right not to incriminate yourself.
Instead, remain calm and stay silent. Then, call your criminal defense attorney to help you build a credible case against the charges lodged against you.
