Drunk drivers are a major problem on Minnesota’s roads. In fact, close to one out of every three roadway deaths in this state involves an impaired driver – and the danger is probably never greater than on the annual “Drunksgiving.”
In recent years, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving has become such a major night for drinking that bars have started holding special events to lure in patrons and you can even buy celebratory t-shirts online for a bar crawl. While most revelers celebrate responsibly and either take a rideshare to their local watering hole or use designated drivers – not all do.
If you’re going to be traveling this Thanksgiving, what can you do to stay safer? Here are two tips
1. Choose your route carefully
If you’re headed “home” for the Thanksgiving holiday, you probably know where the local party scene is the most intense. Give the bar district or the local hangouts a wide berth. Be wary of using back roads, since drivers who know they’re inebriated may be more likely to use those as a way to circumvent sobriety checkpoints and avoid the police.
2. Be selective about your timing
According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the vast majority of drunk drivers are on the roads between midnight and 3 a.m., which makes sense when you realize that’s when a lot of bars and restaurants start shutting down. If you’re headed back to mom’s or grandma’s for the holiday feast, try to make sure that you’ve made it to your destination before the partying gets started – and well before “last call” at the local bars.
Ultimately, you need to be on “high alert” for the signs that you’re sharing the road with a drunk driver. If you see another car swerving, turning too narrowly or turning too wide, driving too slowly or otherwise behaving erratically, give it plenty of space and call 911 as soon as possible to report your suspicions. If you do end up in a crash, however, make sure that you find out everything you can about your right to fair compensation for your injuries and losses.