Super Bowl Sunday: The winning game plan is to drive sober

Super Bowl Sunday is easily the single largest sports celebration of the year, an event that combines friends, family, food and—for many people—alcohol.  With more than 110 million people tuning in to watch the game, the most dangerous place to be on February 4 isn’t on the field.  It’s on the road.

Research shows that men between the ages of 21 and 35  dominate NFL viewership.  According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, they are also the demographic group that make up the highest percentage of drunk drivers.  These factors combined mean that drunk driving and alcohol-involved crashes spike during the game and in the hours following it.  More alcohol-related accidents, DUI-related injuries and fatalities occur on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year, except New Year’s. According to Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD), more than two-thirds of Super Bowl Sunday traffic fatalities involve drunk drivers. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that drunk driving accounts for almost one of every three deaths on our nation’s roads every year with 10,497 people killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2016. That’s one person every 50 minutes. 
Your winning game plan is to never drink and drive. Before the big game, make a plan.  Designate a driver, take advantage of public transportation, take a cab or use a ride share option.  Just remember fans don’t let fans drive drunk.