Drive Safe During the Holidays

For many Iowans, the holiday season means getting together with friends and family for celebrations, attending work parties or end of the year events. It's a great time to celebrate the joys of the year and ring in a new year. Unfortunately, this also marks a higher than normal rate of impaired driving on Iowa's roadways. National organizations, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Crime Victim Law Institute, are reminding drivers to plan ahead this holiday season. 

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, our state has a long way to go to help put an end to drunk driving in Iowa. The statistics are sobering:

• 2018 traffic fatalities in Iowa, 27% involved alcohol-impaired driving. 
• According to NHTSA, 839 people lost their lives nationally in traffic crashes involving a drunk driver during the month of December, 2018.
• Despite the fact it’s illegal to drive when impaired by alcohol, in 2018, one person was killed every 50 minutes by a drunk driver on our nation’s roads.
• During the Christmas and New Year’s Day holiday periods in 2018 alone, there were more drunk-driving-related fatalities (285) than during any other holiday period that year.
• An OWI can cost you $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, repairs, and lost time at work! 
• In 2018, 85 lives were taken by alcohol-impaired traffic crashes in Iowa. Don’t be the reason someone doesn’t get home this holiday season. 

Marsy's Law for Iowa coalition member, Linda Chapman knows the irreparable damage drunk drivers can cause. 

You can read more about Linda and Nikki's story on our page here. 

Have fun this holiday season, but please remember to plan ahead.