Preparing for a Safe Super Bowl Weekend

By Zane T. Cagle | February 1, 2019 | Car Accidents, Drunk Driving, Featured, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death

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Ok, so if you’re not going to Atlanta, chances are you are attending a Super Bowl party near your home. There will be many! By and large, the Super Bowl is one of the highest watched sporting events in the United States. In fact, Monday morning water cooler conversations are talk about the big plays and, of course, the best commercials. Advertisers spend months developing their commercials for that Sunday afternoon game. You could say it’s a big deal for many sports fans.

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest drinking days of the year. DUI’s spike and many law enforcement organizations will set up DUI checkpoints. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2012, 21 percent of fatal crashes nationwide involved drivers with BACs of .08 percent or higher. Ride share companies such as Uber and Lyft can greatly decrease the incidents of drunk driving. As well, calling a cab or flagging a cab is still a very reliable way to avoid drunk driving.

The thing is, we want everyone of you to make it to work on Monday morning or whatever your Monday plan is! We don’t want anyone missing their Monday plans (whether it’s work or sleeping off a hangover) due to a motor vehicle crash. Statistically, Super Bowl weekend produces more drunk drivers and thus more drunk driving motor vehicle accidents.

We Can Do Away with these Drunk Driving Crashes

How can we do away with drunk driving crashes? We can do away with these needless drunk driving crashes easily—plan ahead. I’ve been to many, many Super Bowl parties, so let’s not pretend that you haven’t already thought about the drinks and great foods you will want to eat during the game. If you’re going to a friend’s house, a bar, or having a gathering at your house; make safe transportation plans. Assume that everyone is going to be drinking and plan accordingly.

• Don’t under any circumstances climb behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking
• Designate a sober driver. No, not the “least drunk” in the group, but someone who has not been drinking. You might want to plan extra perks for the designated driver! Make them feel appreciated
• Have a couple of back-up plans for transportation. Maybe you’ve planned to call an Uber or Lyft. Also have then numbers of local cab companies. Download our free app Injury Attorney and you can order a Lyft, Uber or cab from your geographical area.
• If you see someone driving recklessly, call 911 and advise them of the location, make and model of the vehicle and license plate if you get it. We’re not generally down for “getting people in trouble”, but on heavy traffic weekends like the Super Bowl; reporting someone driving dangerously may save the life or serious injury of another. You may save the dangerous driver from themselves as well.
• If you are hosting a party, monitor your guests. Provide lots of non-alcoholic beverages as well. Also, provide various kinds of foods so your guests are not drinking on empty stomachs. If one of your guests is drunk, insist that they not drive and call them an Uber, Lyft of cab. So, they might be peeved at you for a short time, but typically drunk friends get over being miffed at you when you save them from a DUI or crash.
• If hosting, and you have a drunk guest, you may need to ask them to stay over or coordinate a ride/hotel room for them. These are the downers about hosting a party. I’ve hosted more than one party and politely or “strongly” encouraging guests to not drive due to over driving is not always easy. It is downright awkward at times. Again, I would rather have a miffed guest than a dead or injured friend.
• As a sober driver, drive defensively. Assume that others are possibly under the influence and have slower reaction times, so slow down and pay close attention. Keep a safe distance when following another vehicle and expect the unexpected.

Let’s Do Away with Needless Drunk Driving-related Crashes this Super Bowl Weekend

The only person you can 100% control is yourself. Only you can make sure that you have a plan so you do not make stupid decisions. From experience, I know that making a plan after you are drunk is usually a terrible plan simply because we don’t use good judgment while we are drinking. It’s one thing to make a decision to do or say something personally embarrassing and quite another to injure or kill others with you bad decision. Be sure the only bad choice you make results in how bad your hangover is or how bad your living room is trashed, but don’t suffer the bad choice by waking up in a hospital or jail.

If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, you will need legal advice. Our attorneys are available seven days a week. So before you start talking to insurance companies and “oversharing”, give us a call. We would much rather you have good information to base your decisions.

Call us toll free 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681 to speak with our attorneys today for a free consultation.

About The Author

Zane T. Cagle

Zane T. Cagle is the founding president and lead trial attorney at The Cagle Law Firm. With a strong dedication to his clients, he has built a reputation for his tenacious representation in personal injury cases, ensuring each client's unique story is heard. Areas of Practice: Personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death. Bar Admissions: Supreme Court of Missouri, Illinois & Kentucky. Superior Court of U.S. Virgin Islands Education: Washington University School of Law. Awards: Super Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40 by The National Trial Lawyers Association, 10 Best in Missouri for Customer Satisfaction.

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