Say ‘NO’ to Drunk Driving this Holiday Season

Holiday season is the season of merriment and joy. Holidays should have happy memories spent with loved ones. But a Telegram article mentions that approximately 52 percent of fatal collisions on Christmas and 57 percent on New Year’s are caused by alcohol-affected drivers. The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that drunk drivers play a role in a full 40 percent of traffic deaths over Christmas and New Year’s. That’s an increase of 12 percent over the rest of December. It has been noted that driving under the influence of mood-altering substances causes quite a few numbers of deaths over the holidays.

Statistics of road accidents in India

According to a media report, the months of January and May 2018 reported the highest number of road traffic accidents in India. Drunken driving is one of the leading causes of road fatalities in India according to NDTV. 

Sunday Guardian reports that drunk driving led to over 38,000 road accidents over the last three years and this, despite the Central government passing a stringent law last year to increase punishment and penalty for drunk driving.The data provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to the Rajya Sabha highlights that cases of drunk driving and drunk driving related accidents increased in 2019 compared to 2018.As per the ministry’s data, 12,256 road accidents occurred in 2019 which were related to drunk driving, against 12,000 such cases reported in 2018.

India reported the highest number of road traffic crashes, related injuries, and deaths among all countries in the world, with 105,725 road traffic fatalities and 452,922 nonfatal road traffic injuries in 2007.The highest number of road accidents were reported in the peak times of 6 pm to 9 pm, while the least number of accidents were reported between 6 am to 9 am. The accident numbers have been observed to have progressed as the day passed.

Reason for more road fatalities during holidays

Holidays mark more days off from work and more parties and festivities. This means more consumption of liquor and mood-altering drugs. Alcohol and drugs make users loose sense of judgement and time estimation. Also, the euphoria that arises from excessive drinking propels erratic and rash driving behaviour in users causing a greater number of crashes and fatalities.

The effects of alcohol on the central nervous system include failed cognitive, judgment and memory impairment, feelings of relaxation, sensory dysfunction (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time and hearing) and motor impairment. 

Another reason for increased number of drunk driving-related accidents during the holidays is likely because there will be more people on the road, leading to more traffic, and the fact that most people attend parties or events where large amounts of alcohol are served during holiday periods.

How to avoid such accidents

Making arrangements before hand for a designated driver is the right way to commute after attending a party or consuming liquor beyond legal limit. Hiring a cab also helps avoid accidents.

If you are insistent on enjoying the drive in your car after the party, keeping a track of the number of pegs consumed to make sure you BAC falls under the legal limit becomes an essential measure to avoid messing up. Punishment for drunk driving, though it varies from place to place could be heavy on your pockets. Sometimes it involves suspension or revocation privileges for a certain period of time. Hence, it is wise to re-consider your idea of driving.

If you are hosting party holiday season, make sure that you offer plenty of drinks that are alcohol free. This offers guests a way to celebrate the season without having to worry about having too much to drink.

Always report drunk drivers if you notice any, on the road. That way you could save lives. The saddest part is that these fatalities could have been averted had the substance users taken enough precautions.