Blackout Wednesday
Every year around the Thanksgiving holiday many drunk drivers are arrested and some are seriously injured or killed. Every time the drunk driving statistics are announced, people are shocked at how many drunk-driving accidents there are.
Drunk driving is a problem year-round, but drunk driving during Thanksgiving seems to be more common. The trend to drink heavy the night before Thanksgiving seems to have emerged from college students coming home from school and meeting up for drinks the night before the holiday. For some, this becomes a life-long tradition. It’s so common that there’s a name for it – Blackout Wednesday.
Rhode Island DUI Task Force
In Rhode Island, this year the DUI task force arrested 26 people on Wednesday night. On Thanksgiving Day, on two separate occasions drunk drivers launched their cars into someone’s home, one in Warwick and the other in East Providence.
People start celebrating on Wednesday night and some extend it into the next day. They get behind the wheel of a car after drinking several glasses of wine or bottles of beer. Once they get into their car drunk, it causes them to make dangerous decisions like speeding or passing cars that are turning. Sometimes it results in a complete loss of control of the vehicle and they end up driving off the road.
Drunk Driving Can Be Dangerous and Often Lethal
Putting the key into the ignition and starting up the car while drunk can lead to fatal consequences. Drunk drivers may think they are okay to drive after drinking, but many times their blood alcohol content is much higher than they realize.
Drunk driving is very dangerous, not only for drunk drivers but also for innocent bystanders, not to mention the criminal and civil charges that can result just for being pulled over even if an accident didn’t occur. Drunk driving kills people every year at this time. A drunk driver who thinks he is okay to drive drunk can kill someone – themselves, their family, friends or some other innocent person.
From ABC News:
The Rhode Island DUI Task Force made 26 alcohol related arrests overnight, ahead of Thanksgiving.
The DUI Task Force was deployed during the hours between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Members of the Rhode Island State Police, local police departments, RIDOT, and the Attorney General’s office are all part of the DUI Task Force.
The efforts from law enforcement will continue throughout the holiday weekend.
RI DUI Task Force arrests 26 overnight