TAMPA, Fla. — New Year’s Eve is one of the most dangerous days to be on the road.
Officials see drunk driving crashes skyrocket between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
“Unfortunately, we see people get out there and make some very poor decisions, mixing the drinking, sometimes even the drugs as well, getting behind the wheel. Of course, we see crashes, injuries, and deaths. That’s what we want to avoid. So we want to make sure everyone gets the message once again this year,” said Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Steve Gaskins.
They’re urging people to take extra caution when driving this weekend.
Don’t get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking.
“Just a few drinks. It doesn’t take long. Your judgment starts to get impaired, first and foremost. So you make poor decisions as far as spacing and distance and time. You know, can I make this red light? How far away am I from a stoplight? That gets affected very rapidly,” said Gaskins.
While you’re planning how you’re going to ring in the New Year, make sure you also plan a safe way to get home and take advantage of ride-share opportunities.
If you’re hosting a party at your house, be prepared to let people stay the night if they’ve been drinking.
Officials want to remind people that driving drunk comes with severe consequences. There will be extra officers out patrolling the streets this weekend.
“The basic premise of this is to simply keep impaired drivers off the road. We’re going to be out in force as usual, looking for impaired drivers. I would like the arrest numbers to be zero, which means we don’t have any drunk drivers out there, but unfortunately, we know that’s probably not going to be the case,” said Gaskins.
If you see an erratic driver or know someone who is driving drunk, dial *FHP to send a trooper out.
