Celebrate responsibly

Friday we begin a new year, holding the promise of new beginnings. Unfortunately, for some of us those new beginnings will end when they are only hours old.

The New Years holiday weekend is traditionally one of the most dangerous times to be on the roadways. According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the New Years holiday in 2008 saw the highest number of accidents on Ohio roadways of any holiday weekend that year.

In 2009, 10 people died in six crashes over the New Years holiday weekend reporting period of 6 p.m. Dec. 30, 2008, through Jan. 4. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 83 percent of the fatal crashes involved someone driving under the influence of alcohol.

In 2008, the last year for which full statistics are available, alcohol was involved in 4.5 percent of Ohio crashes. But it was involved in 7.8 percent of accidents where someone was injured, and 37.5 percent of fatal accidents.

In January, 2008, alone, Ohio saw 39 deaths in 32 fatal traffic accidents. Seven hundred fourteen people were injured in 519 injury accidents.

Clearly, the drunk driver is not always the only person killed or injured in such crashes. Driving drunk puts yourself, your passengers, and other motorists and pedestrians at risk.

We encourage our readers and friends to make merry for the New Year holiday, but to do so responsibly. Assign a designated driver, or volunteer to be one yourself.

If that is not possible, arrange for holiday celebrations where you are free to stay until it is safe to drive again. And if you are hosting a celebration, prepare to have guests spend the night; perhaps they will treat you to breakfast in the morning in thanks for protecting them from possible calamity.