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How to avoid a costly drunk driving charge for the holidays
It's time for holiday parties and get togethers. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety says if you decide to drink, you'd better have a plan to get home safely.
ATLANTA - It's time for holiday parties and get-togethers. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety says if you plan on drinking, you better have a plan on how you're going to get home.
The annual Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is underway. The Georgia State Patrol, local sheriff's offices and local police are out in force to keep the roads safe.
"Have a plan in place if you're going to drive, do not drink and if you're going to drink, do not drive. What we want to get across is driving under the influence is 100 percent preventable," said Lt. Maurice Raines with the Georgia State Patrol.
Preventable, yet the statistics are sobering. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows 40 percent of people killed in car crashes in Georgia during the Christmas holidays from 2017 to 2021 involved a drunk driver.
"If you decide to drink and drive, you're going to lose your right to drive, you can spend time in jail, you can spend money and fees and fines paying attorneys, lose your life or take someone else’s life and that's a consequence that you will live with for the rest of your life," said Georgia State Patrol Lt. Maurice Raines.
If you do indulge, and you don't have a designated driver, there are options.
Through a grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety Association, starting Friday, drivers can get a $20 voucher for a ride through the rideshare, Lyft.
There's also an AAA Tow-To-Go, which will take someone home or to another location within a 10-mile radius, and you don’t' have to be a AAA member.
"It's a confidential call, they'll pick them up and their car and take them to a safe location," said Garrett Townsend with AAA Georgia.
Law enforcement says you have options. Choose the right one this holiday season.
"During this holiday season make sure you obey the speed limit, wear your seat belt and never drive impaired," said Allen Poole, Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.