The Super Bowl is America’s most watched national sporting event and this year North Carolinians will be tuning in to cheer on our own Carolina Panthers. The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program and state and local law enforcement officials are urging football fans not to drink and drive. If you plan on drinking on Super Bowl Sunday, designate a sober driver to get you home safely – don’t “Booze It & Lose It.” Panthers fans are smarter than that.

Last year on Super Bowl Sunday there were 42 alcohol-impaired-driving crashes resulting in three fatalities and 21 injuries in North Carolina. So far this year there have been 682 alcohol-impaired-driving crashes with 13 fatalities and 451 injuries. A driver is considered alcohol-impaired with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, the set limit in all states. This Feb. 7, don’t become a tragic Super Bowl stat.

“Drunk driving is completely preventable,” said Don Nail, director of GHSP. “I am excited to see the Panthers in the Super Bowl as much as everyone else in North Carolina. I encourage you to be smart with all the excitement. Drink or drive — but never do both. All it takes is a little planning. If you “Booze It” and drive, you will “Lose It.”

To help share the Super Bowl “Booze It & Lose It” message, GHSP, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation is continuing with its online marketing campaign, “Don’t Drink and Drive.  You’re Smarter Than That” reminding Panther fans to plan ahead if they are going to celebrate this Sunday with alcohol. Designate a sober driver, whether it’s a friend, relative, taxi, ride share or public transportation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also launched a new SaferRide mobile app. The app helps people who have been drinking get a safe ride home; it helps users call a taxi or a friend and identifies their location so they can be picked up. The app is available for Android devices on Google Play, and Apple devices on the iTunes store.

-Submitted by NCDOT