Holiday Drinking and Driving Tips: Don’t Ruin Your Night (or Anyone Else’s)

Holiday festivities create excitement and joy, but looming in the background is risk and even disaster if you’re not careful with alcohol and driving. Here are some holiday party driving tips based on our experience defending DUI charges in Spartanburg, Greenville, and nearby:

• If you drink, don’t drive. Call a cab, or even better, appoint a real hero: a designated driver. And reward him for his efforts with a gift card or a small gift. ’Tis the season, right?
• If you drive, don’t drink. We’re not kidding about this “be a real hero” business: a sober designated driver saves lives. We thank you for keeping your friends and family safe.
• If you drink, think. The goal of driving is to get there and back safely. Keep that goal in mind, alcohol impairment can prevent that. And the goal of the party is not to get bombed, it’s to enjoy fellowship and fun with your friends and maybe make some new ones. Alcohol impairment can hurt that, too.
• Fake it. Take a hint from newly pregnant moms: no one can tell the difference between a vodka tonic and ice water with lime. Or get a beer in a brown bottle and dump it in the bathroom sink, then refill it with water. No one will know.
• If you drink, do it slowly with lots of food. Never drink on an empty stomach. Food reduces the impairing effects of alcohol, which dissipate even more over time. So do some heavy grazing for safety! Have one drink, then fake it the rest of the party.
• If you think you’re impaired, you are. Don’t drive. What’s more embarrassing: bumming a ride home or being the talk of the town the next day when your bleary-eyed mugshot is emblazoned across the Internet?
• “Sobering up” tricks fool only one person: you. For example, getting bombed and then spending the last hour of the party drinking six cups of coffee only makes you a hyperactive drunk.
• The next morning: it ain’t over ’til it’s over. If you have a really big night, you probably still won’t be safe to drive the next morning. Don’t drive until your head is completely clear and you’ve had a full meal or two.

The Risks—and Costs—of a DUI are High

The risks of driving impaired from a holiday party are just not worth it. You could ruin your night with an arrest or worse. How would you feel when you finally sober up to find you’ve caused a terrible crash that ends up ruining (or ending) some other driver’s life, and maybe the lives of his passengers? Are you going to look forward to a long prison sentence ahead of you for a felony DUI?

At Holland & Usry, we want everyone to stay safe on the roads, and if that means we get fewer DUI cases, we are delighted. But we never, ever judge anyone who’s been arrested for these charges. And we know all too well many people facing these charges have a solid defense that, if presented properly, can result in dismissal, reduced charges, or winning at trial. If you get arrested for DUI/DUAC in Spartanburg, Greenville, or any nearby community over the holidays or any other time, it won’t cost you a thing to discuss your case with us. For more information on these cases, check out our check out our FREE report, The Terrible Price of a DUI/DUAC Conviction.

Always feel free to call us toll-free at 888.230.1841 to schedule your free meeting.

We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.