Crime & Safety

Be a Super Hero on Super Bowl Sunday: Choose Not to Drink and Drive

Mothers Against Drunk Driving ask football fans celebrating Super Bowl Sunday to designate sober driver.

Information provided by Mothers Against Drunk Driving—

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and this weekend, it will be easy to join the ranks. You can do this by simply designating your hero or by serving as a designated sober driver.

Super Bowl Sunday continually ranks as the second most dangerous time of the year for drunk driving fatalities, just behind New Year’s Day. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 43 percent of all traffic fatalities on Super Bowl Sunday (and the early hours of the following morning) are caused by drunk driving, compared to an average of 31 percent for the year as a whole. 

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In addition to party-goers designating a sober driver before kick-off, party hosts can do their part to keep their friends and family safe too. Here are some tips for hosting a safe Super Bowl party:

• Plan activities like party games or door prize drawings to engage people and reduce alcohol consumption.

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• Offer non-alcoholic drink options for designated drivers and those who are under age 21.

• Provide plenty of food to avoid guests drinking on an empty stomach and getting intoxicated more quickly.

• Be ready to step in if a guest has had too much to drink — offer to drive them home, arrange for a ride with a sober guest, call a taxi, or invite them to spend the night.

MADD and the NFL encourage all Superb Bowl fans to put a lot of thought and planning into your "end game" - how you are getting home!!  Since MADD began partnering with the NFL on the game-day designated driver program in 2010, MADD has helped teams increase their designated driver sign-ups by an average of 28 percent per year. That’s a direct translation to lives saved and injuries prevented.



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