Game Plan for Super Bowl 50: Are you Drinking or Are you Driving?

OCEAN CITY, MD – The Super Bowl is America’s most watched national sporting event. On Super Bowl 50 Sunday, February 7, there will be lots of game day socializing that may include drinking. The Ocean City Police Department is urging football fans to call the play now: drinking OR driving. If you plan on drinking on Super Bowl Sunday, designate a sober driver to get you home safely.

“The driver is ultimately responsible for their own safety,” stated Chief Ross Buzzuro. “If citizens choose to drink alcohol, we strongly recommend that they have a designated driver, call a cab or catch a city bus.”

According to data from NHTSA, in 2014 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States—31 percent of all vehicle crash fatalities in the nation. The numbers go even higher on weekends. A driver is considered alcohol-impaired with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, the set limit in all states. This February 7, don’t become a tragic Super Bowl stat.

If you’re attending a Super Bowl party or watching the game at a sports bar or restaurant:

• Download Maryland’s new smartphone app known as ENDUI (pronounced END-DUI) for free from the iTunes store and the Google Play store;
  • With key features such as creating a designated driver list or instantly locating the nearest taxi service or public transportation, ENDUI makes it easier than ever to prevent impaired driving.
• Designate your sober driver, or plan another way to get home safely before the party begins.
• If you don’t have a designated driver, then ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come and get you.
• Never let friends drive if they have had too much to drink.

If you’re hosting a Super Bowl party:

• Make sure all your guests designate a sober driver in advance, or arrange for alternate transportation to ensure they get home safely.
• Serve food and include non-alcoholic beverages at the party.
• Stop serving alcohol at the end of the third quarter of the game and begin serving coffee and dessert.
• Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy.