Super Bowl Sunday is a day most NFL fans look forward to for months. However according to Mike Bomberger, a personal injury lawyer from California, it is also a day notorious for the numbers of drink driving accidents leading to many serious injury and deaths.
It is well known that the Sunday of the Super Bowl is a day on which lots of alcohol is consumed, indeed after New Year’s Eve it is the night with most alcohol related fatalities on the roads. In response to this California’s police officers are preparing for a busy day trying to combat drinking on the roads. However the Police cannot fully prevent drink driving, it is down to individual motorists to take responsibility for themselves and their friends. Alcohol impairs information processing, vision, psychomotor skills, perception and attention all vital brain functions for driving safely. Alcohol can impair driving even at very low concentrations and despite numerous campaigns nearly 12,000 people die in drink driving incidents every year in the USA.
“Driving under the influence is selfish. Accidents caused by drunk drivers are 100% preventable,” said Bomberger, “Avoiding these accidents is easy. If your Super Bowl plans involve alcohol, make the right decision before kickoff. Designate a non-drinking sober driver.”
If hosting a Super Bowl party, be sure to think about the issue of drinking and driving. In order to make ensure your friends get home safely try some of the following tips:
Make sure you provide lots of food; food slows down alcohol absorption.
Ensure that each group has a sober designated driver.
Don’t let underage people drink.
Offer alcohol free options
Help intoxicated guests make alternative arrangements, let them stay over, call them a taxi or ask a sober driver to give them a lift, never let them drive home drunk.
Drunk drivers are a danger to all road users; that is why it is vital you stop your friends drink driving. If you see someone on the road driving drunk, call the police. Indications include weaving around the road, driving extremely slowly and making sudden turns.
Mike Bomberger said ‘Our firm has successfully represented dozens of victims of drunk driving accidents and their families. In 2010, we recovered a $6 million settlement for a victim of a head-on collision caused by a drunk driver on Interstate 10. But even with a fair settlement, you can never really undo the pain these accidents cause, not just to victims, but their entire families. If you have been drinking, it’s important to stay off the roads.”