2019 Buzzed Driving Is

FACT SHEET & TALKING POINTS

This Thanksgiving, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is teaming up with [State/Local Organization] to keep you safe on the streets. A popular trend, Thanksgiving Eve, or “Blackout Wednesday,” highlights — and even encourages — the heavy consumption of throughout the long holiday weekend. It’s important to remember that drunk driving is dangerous and illegal in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. This year, Thanksgiving Eve falls on Wednesday, Nov. 27, so we’re working hard to get the message out that Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. Read the stats below and help us spread this lifesaving message.

 This Thanksgiving holiday, NHTSA and its partners are conducting a social media blitz featuring the hashtag #BoycottBlackoutWednesday to help deliver lifesaving messages about the dangers of drunk driving into the public conversation and encourage positive actions that can help reduce impaired driving on the roadways.  Drunk-driving-related crashes spike during the Thanksgiving holiday season. According to NHTSA, from 2013 to 2017, more than 800 people died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday period (6 p.m. Wednesday to 5:59 a.m. Monday), making it one of the deadliest holidays on our roadways. Even one drink can be one too many.  In 2017, more than one out of every three traffic fatalities during the Thanksgiving holiday period involved an alcohol-impaired driver.

The Cost of Impaired Driving  On average, a DUI can set you back $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing, and more.  The financial impact from impaired driving crashes can be devastating: Based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), impaired-driving crashes cost the $44 billion annually.

Plan Before You Party Don’t let plans get away from you — it’s imperative to your safety and the safety of others to plan for a sober ride home from the party. Don’t leave your house without a plan on how to get home safely — once you start drinking you likely won’t make good choices. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for a safe night out.

 Remember that it is never okay to drive impaired. Whether you’ve had one alcoholic beverage, an impairing substance, or both, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride sharing service to get home safely.

 Use your community’s sober ride program [Insert your local sober ride program specifics here].  If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact [Local Law Enforcement].  Have a friend who is about to drive while alcohol or drug impaired? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.

By working together, we can save lives and help keep America’s roadways safe. Please join us in sharing the lifesaving message Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving, and use the hashtag #BoycottBlackoutWednesday this holiday weekend.

For more information, please visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/get-materials/drunk- driving/buzzed-driving-drunk-driving/thanksgiving-eve.

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