Alcohol is a major cause of many car accidents, trucking accidents, and motorcycle accidents. In many fatal accidents, alcohol is a factor. Although drunk driving is fully preventable and although the media and many organizations have been teaching about the dangers of drunk driving for years, there are still some people who decide to drive under the influence. There are many ways you can prevent the personal injuries and fatalities that drunk driving causes:

1) Plan ahead. If you know you may be drinking alcohol, designate a sober driver and give that person the keys. Or, plan to take a taxi and bring taxi fare as well as the number of a taxi service. Many people drink and drive simply because they don’t make arrangements for getting home safely.

2) If you have been drinking and don’t have a designated driver, use an alternative means of transportation. Not everyone plans ahead or knows ahead of time when alcohol will be served at an event. If you go out not expecting to drink but find that you do drink, have a plan in place. Have a sober friend you can call, or know how to use mass transit. Always keep a taxi company’s number in your wallet so that you can call for a cab.

3) If you see someone who is about to drive drunk, stop them. Take away their keys or offer to get them home safely using the type of safe transportation you are taking home.

4) If you see someone driving erratically and think that the person may be drunk, call the authorities. A drunk driver on the road is an emergency and should be treated as such. Do not approach the person yourself but do call for help so that the person can be removed from the road before an accident occurs.

5) Don’t assume you can drive. If you have been drinking and have only had a small amount of alcohol, don’t assume that you are sober enough to drive. Many people make this mistake and drive drunk inadvertently, thinking they are fine. If you have any alcohol, take an alternative means of transportation. At the very least, take a breathalyzer – available now at many bars and clubs – to determine whether you are safe to drive.