They better not drive in this condition.
To what am I referring?
The most deadly few hours of the entire year on the roads are the first few hours of the year, early tomorrow morning. People will get tanked up tonight in New Years celebrations, then sometime after midnight they’ll slide behind the wheel, turn the key, and step on the gas. Then they’ll realize they’re still in Park, which is Clue #1 that they need to stay in Park. Unfortunately, that won’t happen in far, far too many cases. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 68.9 percent of fatal accidents that occur on New Year’s Day involve alcohol. That’s tomorrow. That unenviable statistic makes New Year’s Day the worst day of the year for drunk driving fatalities. (Super Bowl Sunday comes in second.) Conceivably, someone might read this message who will not be alive at this time tomorrow.
I hate to be a party pooper by bringing up these grim statistics, but as the old saying goes, “Dying on New Year’s Day is guaranteed to ruin the rest of your year.” Actually, I just made that saying up. But you know what would even be worse than dying? Not dying. Killing someone else, and then having to live with that for the rest of your life, a sizable portion of which might be spent inside a prison cell. That would be quite the burden to bear.
So tonight, play it safe. Stay in. If you go out, get a room at the hotel where you’re celebrating. Call a cab. Designate a sober driver. Just don’t be a statistic.