MADD Says New Years Eve is 'Deadliest Day of Year' for Drunken Driving Crashes

Information provided by Mothers Against Drunk Driving—

As we join with family and friends to ring in the New Year, Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) wants adults to make a plan in advance for how they’re going to get home safely if their festivities include alcohol. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2012, 70 people were killed in drunk driving crashes nationwide on New Year’s Day, after all the midnight toasts, representing over half of all traffic fatalities.

“This year, as you decide who you are going out with, where you are going and what you are going to wear, make the most important decision – a way to get home safely with a non-drinking designated driver,” said MADD National President Jan Withers. “It is the one New Year’s resolution that can save a life."

Learn more about how to 'Plan Ahead' on getting home.

MADD SF Bay Area asks you to consider these tips to celebrate your New Year safely:

• Designate a non-drinking driver before you go out.
• Save the number of a local cab company in your phone.
• Plan to spend the night, so you don’t have to drive home.
• Splurge and get a car service or limousine. 
• Don’t get in a car with someone who has been drinking.
• Don’t provide alcohol to anyone under age 21.

Law enforcement agencies across the country will be out in force as part of the nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown, and MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® includes support for these types of high-visibility law enforcement efforts to deter and detect drunk driving.

For more tips and resources, visit www.madd.org.