5 Tips for a Safe Holiday Season

This Holiday season, Rethinking Alcohol and Other Drugs (RAD) reminds you to plan ahead for a safe holiday season. 
​Reports show that the me period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day includes some of the most dangerous days for drunk and drugged driving deaths. In fact, drunk driving deaths and underage drinking increase around the holidays according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administraion and the Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration. Alcohol remains the 2nd leading cause of death and disability in Los Angeles County, and is associated with over 54 acute and chronic health conditions. The good news is that alcohol (and other drug) related incidents are 100% preventable, and RAD has made prevention messages available to download & share in 5 languages this holiday season. 

RAD reminds you to plan ahead for safe holiday season with 4 simple steps: 

1. Talk about the risks of excessive alcohol use with your teens, friends and family.
2. Only Drive Sober: Designate a non‐drinking driver before any celebraon if you are going to drink alcohol and encourage others to do the same.
3. Take the Keys: Never let friends drive if they are impaired, or under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
4. Be a responsible host: Offer alcohol‐free beverages. Make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.
5. Never provide alcohol or other drugs to minors: Keep alcohol away from minors and supervise. 

Available to Download & Share in 5 languages: www.dropbox.com/sh/eiqqvr5v26lu874/AACcpjxbDesi3RlsnliR9Kz-a?dl=0

More reasons to plan ahead this holiday season: 

●  Over 1 in 3 fatal collisions involve alcohol.

●  1 person is killed in a drunk‐driving crash every 52 minutes.

●  Alcohol‐related emergency room visits increased by 82% between 2006‐2013 in LA County.

●  10,076 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol in 2013. 65% were the drunk drivers themselves.

●  Over 1 in 3 young adults (Ages 18‐25) binge drink.

●  1 in 5 child passenger deaths involve a drunk driver.

●  Almost 1 in 10 (8%) of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes have one or more previous DUI convicons.

●  Men are more likely than women to be driving drunk in fatal crashes.

●  Drunk driving is more common at night: Half of all traffic fatalies at night (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) involve drunk drivers.

●  Among drivers ages 18‐34, 45% of fatalies involve a drunk driver with a BAC of .08 or higher.

●  Alcohol‐related crashes, injuries and incidents cost LA County $10.3 Billion every year.

●  Impaired‐driving crashes cost the United States $49.8 Billion every year.

●  After alcohol, marijuana and prescripon drugs are most commonly linked to drugged driving crashes.

We wish you and your loved ones a #RAD Holiday Season!