When you are leaving a holiday party, either from carving a turkey, drinking eggnog or giving presents, make sure you do not drive drunk.
“With the increase of drinking during the holidays, people are less careful and sometimes make the wrong decisions. Alcohol may lighten the mood and take you out of your comfort zone to have a good time. However, alcohol makes your reaction time slower, affects your speech patterns and it also affects your judgment,” according to Tina Granger, sociology and research professor at Nicholls.
Driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher makes one intoxicated and illegal to drive. According to the Bureau of Transportation Safety, 1.4 million people are arrested yearly nationwide for driving while intoxicated.
“People drink alcohol to face family issues because some peoples family cannot be with them to celebrate the holiday, use it to boost their ego, for a personality modification and as a stress reduction,” said Granger. “Alcohol is a depressant which is why suicides spike in these times.”
If you are arrested because of a DWI, you can face jail time, court costs, suspension of your license, a breathscan placed in your car and can even get your car impounded. The people who are most likely to be arrested for DWI are between 21 and 34, according to the Bureau of Transportation Safety.
Also, the judge may order you to go to classes on drinking problems, but Granger believes that the most effective way to teach others about drinking and driving is peer-to-peer evaluation. Peers tend to know how to handle friends with their maturity level and self-perception.
When asked if people who are arrested for a DWI should get more jail time, Jasmine Payton, freshmen from Raceland, said, “Yes, because they are putting themselves and others in danger, so more jail time will teach them to not drive intoxicated.”
According to Granger, number one is to be aware of your drinking problem. Admitting that you have a problem and knowing your personal limits will keep you from being the man swinging from a chandelier at the end of the night.
 Granger’s idea of safe drinking is to have a plan of action. Have food in your system prior to drinking and munch on food while you are at the party. You can even substitute water for an alcoholic beverage between each drink to make you less drunk. Also, knowing that females have to consume less than males due to females metabolism and body weight issues will help females not get intoxicated so fast.
Granger also promotes having a designated driver for the holidays. The designated driver should be a trustworthy person who is willing to be a safe driver that will bring people to and from parties or clubs.