Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk

January 29, 2009
Contact: Elise Schaffer, PIO Phone: (608) 284-6142 Email: schaffer@co.dane.wi.us
Sheriff's Office

Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney announced today that the Dane County Sheriff’s Office is joining forces with the National Football League (NFL), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and other State and local highway safety and law enforcement officials to remind everyone to act responsibly by designating a sober driver if they plan on drinking alcohol on Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s biggest and most entertaining national sporting events as friends and families gather to socialize and watch the big game. Yet, it has also become one of the Nation’s most dangerous days on the roadways due to impaired driving. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office will not only have additional patrols out on Super Bowl Sunday, but throughout the weekend. The extra enforcement will begin on Friday at approximately 3:00 pm and will continue through midnight on Sunday. In 2007, fatalities in alcohol-impaired driving crashes accounted for 32 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities. On Super Bowl Sunday, 48 percent of the fatalities occurred in crashes where a driver or motorcycle rider had a blood alcohol concentration level of .08 or higher. Designating a sober driver should be on the top of everyone’s Super Bowl party list. Call the right play and pass your keys to a designated driver before the party begins. ###