Tips for staying safe on the road for Super Bowl weekend

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Football fans are gearing up for the big weekend and making plans on what food to eat, what brew to stock, and who to invite for the game. But even more importantly, sports fans should be planning how to ensure that everybody gets home safely after the game without any accidents.

The New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety is urging the public not to drink and drive over the weekend, saying that anybody who has drunk any amount of alcohol not get behind the wheel. It is advised that everyone who plans on drinking also plan on a way to get home safely and to stick to that plan.

If you are going somewhere to watch the game, keep the following options in mind for staying safe:

• Find a designated driver and give them your car keys before the game starts
• Use a taxi cab or car service
• Call someone who has not been drinking to come and get you
• Spend the night where you are
•  Remember to wear your seat belt

Hosts should keep the following tips in mind:

• Serve plenty of food with your alcohol and make non-alcoholic drinks available
• Ensure that guests have designated drivers-consider helping to arrange the rides before serving alcohol
• Stop making alcohol available at the beginning of the third quarter of the game, and offer other food or drinks in its place
•  Make local cab services information available
• Don’t let any guest leave who is thinking of drinking and driving.

According to sources, 189 people died as a result of 179 alcohol-related automobile crashes in New Jersey in 2009. That means that, out of the 584 automobile fatalities reported statewide in 2009, 32 percent were caused by alcohol.

Source: njtoday.com, “Motorists Reminded to Stay Safe and Sober During Big Football Weekend,” 4 Feb 2011.