Kickoff on America’s favorite pastime is just about ready to start. For many football fans, when it’s time for Super Bowl LII, everyone’s a fan…and Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.
In Sweetwater County, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, the Rock Springs and Green River Police Departments, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol is reminding everyone, Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk to urge football fans not to drop the ball on this issue.
In Wyoming, drivers are considered alcohol-impaired if they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. Drunk driving can be deadly, and even small amounts of alcohol can impair judgement to make driving unsafe. During 2016 in Wyoming, 28 % (32) of fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving drunk drivers.
Nationally in 2016, among the 10,497 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities, 67 percent (7,052) were in crashes in which at least one driver had a BAC of .15, almost twice the legal limit.
Be sure to have a game plan for the night so friends and family know who the designated driver is.
Sheriff Mike Lowell and Chiefs of Police Dwane Pacheco and Tom Jarvie all agree: “We want to encourage everyone to turn over their keys to a sober driver before they begin drinking. Drunk driving leads to serious crashes, injuries, or death. As a ‘Keeper of the Keys’ you’ll be doing our communities a big favor if you take that extra step to make sure folks get home safely.”
Sweetwater County Law Enforcement recommends these safe alternatives to drinking and driving:
Plan ahead. If you plan to drink, plan for a sober driver to take you home. Is it your turn to be the designated driver? Take that role seriously—your friends are relying on you.
Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve only had one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation, a cab or Rideshare to get home safely.
Download the Drive Sober Wyoming mobile app at http://www.wygcid.org/Smart_Phone_App.html
See someone who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get them home safely. Don’t worry about offending someone—they’ll thank you later.
Along with this enhanced enforcement effort, the Wyoming Highway Patrol is urging drivers to help keep Wyoming’s roadways safe by calling the Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately (REDDI) hotline number at 1-800-442-9090 to report suspected drunk drivers. Callers should be prepared to provide the dispatcher with a description of the vehicle, its location, and direction of travel.
As of this release there have been 3 traffic deaths in Wyoming in 2018, compared to 3 this time last year.
