The Super Bowl is America’s most watched national sporting event.
On Sunday, Feb. 7, there will be lots of Super Bowl 50 socializing that may include drinking. That’s why the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the California Office of Traffic Safety and law enforcement officials statewide are urging football fans to call the play now: drinking or driving. If you plan on drinking on Super Bowl Sunday, designate a sober driver to get you home safely.
The Arroyo Grande Police Department will deploy additional officers on special DUI saturation patrols specifically to stop and arrest drivers showing signs of alcohol or drug impairment during and following the game.
NHTSA’s Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk campaign encourages people to make plans ahead of time that will prevent them from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking. Driving impaired could result in injury or death for you or others on the road.
According to 2014 data, 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States – 31 percent of all vehicle crash fatalities in the nation, with crashes spiking on the weekends. California’s 2014 data reveals that 882 individuals were killed in DUI crashes.
A driver is legally considered alcohol-impaired with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. The use of drugs and other factors can lead to arrest or crashes at much lower alcohol levels. This Sunday, don’t become a tragic Super Bowl statistic – Fans Don’t Let fans Drive Drunk.
“Drunk driving is completely preventable,” said Chief Steven N. Annibali, “All it takes is a little planning. We want fans to remember that it’s a choice. Drink or drive—but never do both.”
