Plan a Safe Ride Home Tonight as New Year’s Eve Driving Risk Rises

New Year’s Eve is widely recognized as a high-risk night for motorists, and local health experts are urging Buena Vista County residents to plan how they will get home safely as celebrations wind down. With families gathering and parties under way across the county tonight, organizers and individuals are being reminded that simple precautions can prevent tragedies.

Katie Jensen, a wellness education specialist at Gundersen Health System, stresses making a plan before going out. “If you’ve been drinking at all, having a plan ahead of time, even before you would go out, making that plan and figuring out, ‘Okay, how am I going to get home? Am I going to maybe only have one or two beverages, because I know I’m going to be here for a while,’” Jensen says. “Maybe only have one or two when you first get there, and then switch to something non-alcoholic the rest of the evening.”

Options include designating a sober driver, using a taxi or ride-sharing service, or arranging to stay with a host. Jensen warns residents to avoid any substances that impair the ability to drive, including some over-the-counter medications. “Anything that’s going to impair your focus, your concentration, is going to be something that you want to completely eliminate out of your system - or out of your car - before even getting on the road,” she says. “So that could be drugs, it could be alcohol, it could even be texting and driving. That is another form of impaired driving, really, because you are taking your attention off of the road and onto something else.”

The stakes are national and local. A recent study found more than ten-thousand people are killed in the U.S. every year by an alcohol-impaired driver. Jensen emphasizes the ripple effects of one decision: “Really, making that one choice could affect not only your own family, but other people’s families as well,” she says, “especially if you’re going to get behind the wheel and you’ve been drinking, or you’ve been doing other substances that would impact your concentration and focus.”

December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, and health systems with regional clinics are highlighting resources and education. Gundersen properties include clinics in Fayette, Decorah, Waukon, Lansing, Postville and Calmar, and a hospital in West Union.

If you are celebrating tonight, arrange your return trip before you leave, limit or avoid alcohol, skip medications that cause drowsiness, and keep your attention on the road. Planning ahead is the clearest step residents can take to protect themselves, their families and the wider Buena Vista County community.