National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
As the holidays are around the corner, it’s important to remember to be responsible and plan a safe ride home before celebrations that involve alcohol.
December is National Impaired Driving Month, and the holidays are one of the most dangerous times to be on the road as there is an increase in celebrations that involve alcohol which leads to a surge in drunk driving. In 2017, between six o’clock on Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Eve, there were 1,143 drunk driving fatalities across the nation.
Back in 2012, there was a significant peak in DUI arrests for Boulder. However, Boulder has leaned into an overall downward trend, with 2016 being the lowest with 419 since 2009, with 768. On average, people between the ages of 19 and 24 have consistently had the most DUI arrests, illustrating a lack of education among young adults. Moreover, in most DUI arrests, 84 percent were related to alcohol, 7 percent were drug related and 9 percent were a combination of alcohol and drugs.
In 2021, 691 lives in Colorado were lost, and about 37 percent of these cases involved an impaired driver. Since 2019, there has been a 44 percent increase in the number of fatalities that involved an impaired driver. Further, in a report published in Jan 2022 by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, they found 68 percent, of the 26,000 impaired driving cases in 2019, tested positive for multiple substances, with the common combination being alcohol and Delta 9-THC.
“It’s our job to make sure people know that driving after combining alcohol and cannabis or other drugs is extremely dangerous,” stated Darell Lingk, Director of the Office of Transportation Safety at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Ultimately, it doesn’t take much to hit Colorado’s Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) limits, with one or two drinks possibly being enough. Currently, a .05 BAC is grounds for a DWAI and a .08 BAC is grounds for a DUI. A DUI can add up to or more than $13,500, when accounting for fines, legal fees, and increased insurance costs.
Here are some safety tips, as outlined by CDOT. If you are planning to drink, plan a ride home beforehand. A few options include a taxi, Uber, Lyft, public transit, or having a designated driver. Most importantly, if you are the designated driver, do not drink – be responsible. Lastly, if you are hosting a party, you should also encourage your guests to have a plan before heading over. You can also create a group ride code on Uber and Lyft. Moreover, you can also offer a couch if a sober ride home is not available. As a host, you could be held liable if one of your guests gets into a car accident.
CDOT and Lyft have paired to provide $20,000 in ride credits in an effort to reduce impaired driving. From Dec. 1 2022 to Jan. 3 2023, Coloradans can redeem a $10 ride credit using the following code: “DUISRUGLY, ” in the Promotion section of the Lyft app. You can also use the following link: https://www.lyft.com/lyftpass/DUISRUGLY to apply the credit to the Lyft app from your cell phone.
To put it simply: Don’t plan to drive if you plan to drink.
