Happy December! This time of year, we look forward to gathering with family and friends to celebrate the holiday season. It's also a time when prevention can play an especially important role. December is a deadly month for impaired driving - too many lives are cut short by drunken driving, drugged driving, or distracted driving. As road traffic increases, so do DUIs and fatal impaired driving crashes, which take a devastating toll on families and communities everywhere.
The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) reported that in 2019 during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, 210 lives were lost due to alcohol-impaired driving crashes - that's 210 people in one week who did not make it home because either they or someone with whom they came in contact chose to use alcohol and then get behind the wheel. That same year, more than 10,000 people died from drunk driving crashes alone.
These deaths were preventable. Impaired driving, whether through use of alcohol, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, illegal drugs or other means, puts your life and those of others at significant risk. That's why for more than 40 years, preventionists across the U.S. have observed National Impaired Driving Prevention Month in December to raise awareness that impaired driving can be deadly and put strategies in place for all of us to make it home safely.
Let's work together to keep our community safe and save lives this holiday season. Read more about what you can do to help your family, friends, and especially our teens, socialize safely this holiday season:
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