There has never been any excuse for driving under the influence. But in an age where a variety of inexpensive car services are available at the push of a button, it takes an act of profound stupidity to get behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking.
This Labor Day weekend, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will partner with law enforcement across the nation to make sure those who make this fateful—and quite possibly fatal—decision to drink and drive, get what’s coming to them. NHTSA will launch the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. This isn’t about ruining anybody’s good time. We can all have fun while at the same time deciding to not get behind the wheel—and doing so literally saves many, many lives.
Roughly a third of traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk driving. In 2015, 10,265 people were killed in crashes that involved driving under the influence. 63 percent of those who died were the drunk drivers themselves—and 460 of those fatal crashes happened over Labor Day weekend. That same year, one in five children ages 14 and younger were killed in traffic crashes that were a direct result of drunk driving.
Those figures are outrageous. Even if you live to tell the tale, a DUI citation can set you back over $10,000 in attorney fees, fines, and other costs. Doesn’t arranging for another way home seem a whole lot cheaper, easier, safer, and smarter?
Look, neither law enforcement nor NHTSA is your enemy here. In fact, NHTSA has launched the “SaferRide” mobile app, which makes arranging a safe ride home easier, and is available for both Android phones and iPhones.
The dangers of drunk driving aren’t open to debate. So this Labor Day weekend, let’s all choose the simple, smart solution. If you don’t, the consequences are going to be dire—and all too tragically avoidable.
For more on the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, visit here now.
