December. As people, we look ahead to getting along with family and friends to have fun the vacations. It’s additionally a time when prevention can play an particularly vital position. December is a lethal month for impaired driving.
The Nationwide Freeway Security Site visitors Administration (NHTSA) reported that in 2019 in the course of the week between Christmas and New Yr’s Day, 210 lives have been misplaced on account of alcohol-impaired driving crashes. That’s 210 individuals in a single week who didn’t make it dwelling as a result of both they or somebody with whom they got here in touch selected to make use of alcohol after which get behind the wheel. That very same yr, greater than 10,000 individuals died from drunk driving crashes alone.
These deaths have been preventable. That’s why for greater than 40 years, preventionists throughout the nation have noticed Nationwide Impaired Driving Prevention Month in December to boost consciousness that impaired driving will be lethal and to place methods in place for all of us to make it dwelling safely.
As everybody takes precautions to have the ability to safely return to in-person occasions, an increasing number of celebrations are being added to the calendar. It may very well be an intimate dinner at a buddy’s home, maybe a contented hour to have fun a return to the workplace, or a gathering of highschool buddies dwelling from school. In every occasion, alcohol and different substances is probably not essentially on the heart of the enjoyable however are a typical denominator.
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes—which vary from being below the affect of drugs to distracted driving to rushing—enhance all through December as extra individuals journey. SAMHSA’s 2020 Nationwide Survey on Drug Use and Well being confirmed over 26 million individuals ages 16 or older drove inebriated or illicit medication in the course of the previous yr. Roughly 17 p.c of those individuals have been 20 to 25 years previous.
Motorcar crashes are a number one reason for dying and nonfatal harm amongst U.S. adolescents, leading to roughly 2,500 deaths and 300,000 nonfatal accidents annually, in accordance with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. Whereas NHTSA’s “Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving” marketing campaign addresses driving below the affect of simply alcohol, it’s vital to notice that many substances can impair driving, together with marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines, and even prescribed or over-the-counter medicines.
The excellent news is that prevention works. As we come collectively this vacation season, educate your self and others on the dangers of driving whereas impaired and take steps to remain protected. We will begin with the science. There are not any shortcuts to “sobering up” and getting ready to drive; an individual’s coordination and response time are slowed lengthy earlier than they really present indicators of intoxication. Espresso is just not a cure-all. And even slowing or stopping ingesting an hour or extra earlier than planning to drive doesn’t imply the alcohol has “worn off.”
We will have conversations forward of time so there aren’t these awkward “within the second” exchanges. Talk actually along with your youngsters, buddies, members of the family, and colleagues about expectations of conduct and protected selections when attending vacation occasions, whether or not they happen in somebody’s dwelling (the place some can understand the principles are a bit extra versatile) or at a public venue. As well as, encourage ride-sharing companies for gatherings the place alcohol might be served and check-in with visitors for those who’re internet hosting to see in the event that they want a trip. With planning, you may eradicate a spontaneous choice to drive.
Dad and mom and caregivers could face much more stress in the course of the holidays, as many younger persons are dwelling from faculty on break and keen to collect with their friends in a social setting. Assist your younger individuals socialize safely by:
- Discussing the risks of underage alcohol and substance use—particularly when mixed with driving—and set expectations to your youngster’s conduct. SAMHSA’s “Speak. They Hear You.” marketing campaign, together with its new cellular app, helps dad and mom and caregivers begin these conversations.
- Sharing assets designed for youth that talk the information and penalties, like Underage Consuming: Myths vs. Info and the Suggestions for Teenagers sequence.
- Setting curfews if youth go to a celebration and providing to drive them or choose them up. Even when your teen abstains from alcohol, she or he could have a tough time saying “no thanks” to a peer driver who’s ingesting.
- Coordinating with their buddies’ dad and mom about driving plans, in addition to sustaining substance-free environments at events. (Most states have social host legal guidelines that prohibit hosts from serving alcohol to minors. Some dad and mom might imagine it’s a protected possibility if it’s occurring “below their roof”—however it’s nonetheless breaking the regulation and harmful.)
This vacation season, every of us has the facility to forestall a tragedy and make sure that these we all know and care about get to and from their celebrations. Talking up about what’s OK and what’s not OK is an efficient first step—not simply in relation to alcohol use but additionally different substances that may compromise our means to make it dwelling safely.
On the identical time, we ought to be aware that many in our communities may very well be experiencing the vacation blues. For those who or somebody you’re keen on wants psychological well being help and companies, I encourage you to name SAMHSA’s Nationwide Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. If she or he is in disaster, the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential help: 1-800-273-TALK.
If we observe prevention to maintain ourselves and our communities protected, the vacations will be stuffed with the enjoyment we count on them to be.
