CENTER VALLEY, Pa - Thanksgiving week brings some of the busiest travel days of the year. Unfortunately, it's also one of the biggest weeks for drunken driving crashes.
- Thanksgiving week is one of the biggest weeks for holiday crashes
- The Lehigh Valley Health Network has set up a safety task force, to empower young people to make safe choices on hit the road
- They have a simulator so students can experience the dangers of impaired and distracted driving
That’s why Lehigh Valley Health Network has set up a safety task force — to empower young people to make safe choices on the road.
They’re mixing mocktails, emphasizing seat belt use, and quizzing Penn State Lehigh Valley students on their alcohol IQ. And they run the same program with at least 50 other high schools and colleges.
Presentations include a simulator so students can experience the dangers of impaired and distracted driving.
In Lehigh, Northampton and Bucks counties, Pennsylvania State Police reported a combined 77 crashes, 19 injuries, and five drunk driving crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday last year.
Statewide, a 2021 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation report found 24.3% of all holiday period crashes in Pennsylvania occurred around Thanksgiving.
Around all major holidays, drunk driving becomes especially lethal. 11% of all holiday crashes — including July 4 and Memorial Day — involved alcohol, the data showed. But they account for 34% of holiday weekend fatalities.
And it's not just drunken driving that is dangerous. According to the report, 25% of people who die in drunk driving accidents were not drunk driving, but in the car of someone who was.
"Get a designated driver... that you can trust as much as possible to get you home safely."Brian Downs, Public Information Officer at Lehigh Valley Health Network
"Get a designated driver," said Brian Downs, who's co-chair of the task force, "that you can trust as much as possible to get you home safely."
In addition to the loss of life, there’s an economic loss as well. A 2021 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation found the comprehensive costs of crashes were $2,242 to every man, woman and child based on the estimated population.
"It's not always trying to scare people that gets the message across," Downs said. "For students, one thing that can have an impact is the costs of being caught with a DUI... how much you might pay, losing your license, losing your job."