Halloween falls on a Saturday this year making it all the more tempting to drink while out getting your spooks on. So if you do plan on drinking, don’t allow law enforcement to choose your jail inmate costume for you this Halloween. Local police agencies will be out in full force this Halloween looking to catch drunk drivers.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 43 percent of all people killed in motor vehicle crashes from 2009 to 2013 on Halloween night which, ran from 6 p.m. on October 31st to 5:59 a.m. on November 1st, were in crashes involving a drunk driver. On Halloween night alone, 119 people lost their lives over that same period.
Children out trick-or-treating, parents accompanying them, and other pedestrians are also at risk. 19 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes on Halloween night (2009-2013) involved drunk drivers.
So here are some tips that will keep you from experiencing the scariest thing you might see this Halloween: jail bars slamming behind you.
1.) Plan for public transportation. Even if you’ve had a little to drink, it’s probably a good idea to call a cab, Uber, or Lyft. If need be, go old school and take a bus.
2.) Find a designated driver. Also, make sure that your designated driver actually remains a designated driver and doesn’t drink anything.
3.) If you’re not sure, and you probably aren’t, don’t risk it. Even if you don’t feel drunk, you can still get a DUI. In fact, many people who have a 0.08 percent blood alcohol content or higher don’t feel intoxicated. Unfortunately, that doesn’t legally matter. Conversely, you don’t need to have a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent to get a DUI. As long as law enforcement believes that you are “under the influence” of either alcohol or drugs or both, you can be arrested for a DUI.
4.) Just don’t drink. It is the only surefire way to steer clear of a DUI this Halloween.
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