Dear Editor,
Unless you party responsibly, Halloween can quickly become the most devilish of times on our roadways. Crash stats from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) consistently show Halloween is a particularly deadly night due to drunk drivers. Last year, a frightening 58 percent of all highway fatalities across the country involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In Georgia, one-in-three fatalities on Halloween night was alcohol related.
It’s a party that’s just not worth dying for. That’s why we’re joining our statewide highway safety partners again this Halloween to stop impaired drivers before they can kill. Because in recent years, Georgians who drive drunk have transformed Halloween into one of the state’s most deadly holidays.
In 2005, five people died and 22 were seriously injured in 1,005 Georgia Halloween crashes. In 2006, three people died and 10 were seriously injured. And in 2007, Halloween crashes claimed the lives of seven Georgians and 15 others were seriously injured.
These numbers are frightening. Drinking and driving on Halloween can turn a night of festivities into something scarier than any horror movie. But unlike the assorted ghouls who frequent TV fright nights on Oct. 31, real people don’t walk away when they’re hit by a drunk driver.
Luckily, there are a few simple precautions partygoers can take to keep Halloween from turning into a real-life nightmare: Designate a sober driver before drinking, plan a safe way home before festivities begin, call a taxi or a sober friend if you’re too impaired to drive, and don’t hesitate to call your local law enforcement if you suspect another motorist is driving impaired.
One foolish decision can turn Halloween in a real-life horror story. Most people think it’s all about candy, fun costumes and adult beverages. But NHTSA says more than half of all fatal Halloween crashes are now alcohol-related. So this holiday isn’t all fun and games. It’s also an occasion to watch for impaired drivers and for young trick-or-treaters who might dart into the roadway in search of their next treats. Many local law enforcement agencies will be stepping-up high visibility patrols on Halloween weekend to promote increased pedestrian safety.
With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, we want to make sure Georgia revelers aren’t taking the party to our roadways, or putting young trick-or-treaters or responsible motorists at risk. From now through Halloween, highway safety officers throughout Georgia will be out in force, sending drunk drivers straight to jail.
Even motorists who aren’t planning on indulging Halloween night need to keep the following few safety tips in mind: be extra alert when pulling out of driveways; drive below the speed limit; watch for darting children, especially between parked cars; don’t use cell phones when driving through residential areas; and don’t pass other vehicles stopped in the roadway…they could be dropping off children.
For more information about the dangers of drunk driving, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org and for more information about Halloween traffic safety, visit www.nhtsa.gov.
Bob Dallas
Director
Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety
