It’s almost Fourth of July weekend, which means parties, celebratory fireworks and disappointing burgers served by dads who don’t actually know what they’re doing on the grill. But hey, that’s nothing a nice, thick slice of unmelted cheddar cheese can’t make worse. Unfortunately, I may not be able to convince everyone to serve something better than overcooked baseball-shaped burgers, but hopefully, I can at least convince you to be extra careful on the road this week and come up with a plan to avoid drunk or even tipsy driving on one of the deadliest weekends of the year.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 617 people died in car crashes during the 2023 Fourth of July holiday period, with 38% of those attributed to drunk driving crashes. That’s 233 deaths related to drunk driving. Between 2019 and 2023, we saw 2,653 road deaths related to Fourth of July celebrations, with an identical 38% of crashes caused by drunk drivers. Young people between the ages of 21 and 34 were more likely to drive drunk, accounting for 48% of drunk drivers in deadly crashes.
It would be great if “drinking and driving could kill you or someone else” were enough to convince people to stay sober while they’re on the road, but unfortunately, it isn’t. So it’s also worth reminding everyone that the cops also know people love to drink and drive over the holiday weekend, and will likely be out in force over the next week, specifically looking for drunk drivers. If the risk of killing yourself or others isn’t enough to keep you from driving while intoxicated, maybe the threat of being arrested and charged with a DUI that could easily cost you more than $10,000 will.
Tipsy driving is still dangerous
It’s easy to assume most of those crashes were caused by drivers who were seriously intoxicated, and you would, of course, never drive if you were truly drunk, but as the NHTSA stats show, in 2023, only 27% of the deadly Fourth of July drunk driving crashes involved a driver with a blood-alcohol content twice the legal limit or more. The vast majority of those crashes involved drivers with lower BACs who likely thought they were good to drive but actually weren’t.
On top of that, many states have impaired driving laws that allow officers to arrest drivers whose BAC is below the legal limit. In Georgia, for example, you can be charged with DUI Less Safe, even if you aren’t legally above the limit. And on a holiday weekend known for drunk driving, expect any officer who can hand one of those out to do so.
Considering how hot it’ll most likely be, it’s totally understandable that you’d want to celebrate the holiday weekend with a few cold ones, but if you plan to do so, please come up with a plan to get home without driving. Even the exorbitant cost of an Uber will be far cheaper than the cost of a DUI, and it also doesn’t come with the added risk of killing yourself or someone else.
Of course, that’s a lot easier to do if you’re one of the few U.S. Americans who live in a real city that offers a semi-functional public transportation system, since you can just take the train or walk home. Most Americans, however, are stuck getting around by car on roads full of drunk, dangerous drivers, and we really hope every single one of you stays safe this year. We need your clicks, and you can’t click the blogs if you’re dead or in prison.
