Super Bowl Sunday safety message

Football fans advised to not let their fellow fans drive while impaired.

Even though the Green Bay Packers didn’t quite make it to the Super Bowl, football fans all over Wisconsin will be watching the big game on Sunday. Tragically, in about the same amount of time that it takes to play the first half of the Super Bowl, someone likely will be injured or killed in an alcohol-related traffic crash in Wisconsin.

“In Wisconsin, a person is killed or injured in an alcohol-related crash approximately every 88 minutes, and about 43 percent of all fatal traffic crashes involve alcohol,” says Dennis Hughes of the Wisconsin State Patrol Bureau of Transportation Safety. “On Super Bowl Sunday, many people will be drinking at bars and parties before, during and after the game. That’s why law enforcement and traffic safety agencies throughout the state are urging football fans to not let their fellow fans drive drunk.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, young males between the ages of 21 to 34 are the most likely to drive while impaired and they also are the core audience for major sporting events, like the Super Bowl.

Like all other states, Wisconsin law sets the prohibited blood/breath alcohol concentration (BAC) at 0.08 for first and second operating while intoxicated (OWI) offenses. Drivers who’ve been drinking but have a BAC of less than 0.08 are not immune from an OWI violation. Law enforcement officers have authority to arrest drivers for OWI—regardless of their BAC—if they are impaired after drinking, according to Hughes.

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Super Bowl drunken driving—page 2

For a safe and fun Super Bowl Party, the State Patrol offers the following life-saving advice:

§         If you’re hosting a Super Bowl party, serve lots of food and have non-alcoholic beverages available.

§         Don’t serve any amount of alcohol to anyone under the age of 21. Wisconsin’s Absolute Sobriety Law prohibits drivers under age 21 from having any alcohol in their system while behind the wheel.

§         Take care of your guests and don’t let them drive if they’re impaired.

§         Pace your consumption of alcohol and don’t drink on an empty stomach.

§         Above all, plan ahead and designate a sober driver.

“Just like a coach who picks the team’s starting players before the game, you should pick your designated driver before the party begins,” Hughes says. “If you don’t have a designated driver, call a cab or stay where you are. Whatever you do, don’t drive if you’re not sober.”