Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season, a time of the year characterized by frequent travel to bring us into the company of family and loved ones. Although known as a time of celebration, sadly this season also annually brings a significant increase in DUI related arrests and crashes.
Drunk driving is still the number one cause of death on our roadways, yet it is estimated that adults drink too much and drive about 121 million times per year; approximately 300,000 incidences of drunk driving each day. If you drive while impaired, you could be arrested, or worse, be involved in a traffic crash that causes serious injury or death. In Connecticut and every other state, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher, yet despite that one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 50 minutes in the United States in the year 2018. It was in that year that sadly we saw 10,511 people tragically killed in drunk driving crashes across our country.
This holiday season the Westport Police Department, in partnership with law enforcement agencies across our state, continue to monitor our roadways for impaired drivers. Being a responsible driver is simple, if you are drinking please do not drive; help to ensure a safe and happy holiday season for all.