Thanksgiving is a joyous holiday centered around spending time with your family, having delicious food, and relaxing as the holiday season starts. The day before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest travel days of the year, as many Americans have Wednesday off work. This year especially you should be prepared to see more cars on the road as many travelers are staying local, avoiding traveling by plane, and are celebrating with immediate family. With the day off, and traveling complete, the night before Thanksgiving has become a very popular night to go out with friends and family to have drinks. This particular night has earned a few poignant nicknames over the past decade, including “Blackout Wednesday,”“Whiskey Wednesday,” and “Drinksgiving,”
The night before Thanksgiving has become one of the most deadly nights of the year because of the increase in drunk driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2013-2017 there were over 800 fatalities due to car crashes alone on Blackout Wednesday. In 2018, 133 people lost their lives from alcohol-related crashes during the Thanksgiving weekend. These lives were needlessly lost due to the reckless behaviors of irresponsible people.
Why Does this Happen?
When friends and family travel into town for the holidays, they will often want to relax and have some fun before Thanksgiving begins. Friends who have not seen each other in a long time may want to grab a few drinks to catch up on things. Bars and restaurants know this and will take advantage of travelers by having food and drink specials. You may even see Thanksgiving “pub crawls” available, where groups of friends will travel from bar to bar the night before Thanksgiving. Heavy drinking is encouraged as people don’t have to go back to work until the next Monday so there is plenty of time to “recover.” Bars and restaurants only benefit from this as their alcohol sales tend to spike on this particular night. As a result, the number of DUIs and drunk driving fatalities has steadily been increasing over the years on this night.
What Can You Do to Stay Safe?
Taking precautions on the night before Thanksgiving is essential to staying safe and being able to celebrate the holidays with your family. If you do have to travel that night, there are many tips you can follow to stay safe.
To avoid being a victim on blackout Wednesday, encourage your friends and family the follow these tips:
- Never drink and drive – not even “just a few drinks”
- Keep your car in good working order
- Do not drive if you are feeling sick or are fatigued
- If the weather is terrible, do not go out
- Follow the speed limit
- Do not talk or text while driving
- Avoid tailgating
- Always wear a seatbelt
- Report any suspected drunk driving to a non-emergency police line
- Be alert and mindful of other vehicles, motorcycles, and pedestrians
If you are going out on blackout Wednesday, use a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft to prevent driving while intoxicated and encourage your friends and family to do the same. If your guests have a bit too much to drink while at your home, invite them to stay the night so they do not go out on the roads while intoxicated. If they refuse, and you are able to safely, offer to drive them home.
Houston Drunk Driving Accident Attorney
If a drunk driver caused a car crash involving you or your family, immediately contact an experienced drunk driving accident attorney. Your pain and suffering need to be taken seriously. The Houston personal injury attorneys at Adame Garza provide a free and confidential case evaluation to get you the compensation you need to recover. Insurance companies may not look out for your best interests, and you will need an attorney by your side to navigate this process. Contacto the drunk driving accident attorneys at Adame Garza today. There is limited time to act following a Texas car accident, so don’t delay.
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