Saturday updateNapa Police Chief Rich Melton is teaming up with the National Football League (NFL), California Office of Traffic Safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and law enforcement officials to remind everyone to designate a sober driver if they plan to be drinking alcohol on Super Bowl Sunday.

 “We want to pass our safety message to everyone who will be drinking this weekend, real ‘Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk,’” said Chief Melton. “Please act responsibly, designate a sober driver before the Super Bowl party begins and leave your car keys at home.”

Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s biggest and most entertaining national sporting events as friends and families gather to socialize and watch the big game. Yet, it has also become one of the nation’s most dangerous days on the roadways because of impaired driving. The Avoid the 9 Napa County DUI Task Force will be deploying DUI saturation patrols targeting those who drive impaired.

According to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes accounted for 32 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities. On Super Bowl Sunday 2008, 49 percent of the fatalities occurred in crashes where a driver or motorcycle rider had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 or higher.

In California 11 people were killed on Super Bowl Sunday 2009 and another 133 were injured in alcohol-involved collisions. Tragically, that is three times the daily average killed in California with alcohol as a factor and those injured were other twice the daily average.

 “Designating a sober driver should be on the top of everyone’s Super Bowl party list,” said Chief Melton. “It’s just one of several easy steps to help save lives.”

 “We continue to see far too many people hurt or killed as a result of impaired driving. Please do your part to stop this senseless crime,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “To help ensure that this happens, the Avoid the 9 partners are dedicated to arresting impaired driving.  To help, we ask everyone; ‘Report Drunk Drivers, Call 911!’”

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If you are hosting a Super Bowl party:

• Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in an impaired-driving crash.

• Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers.

• Serve lots of food and include lots of non-alcoholic beverages at the party.

• Stop serving alcohol at the end of the third quarter of the game and begin serving coffee and dessert.

• Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving while impaired.

If you are attending a Super Bowl party or watching at a sports bar or restaurant:

• Designate your sober driver before the party begins and leave your car keys at home.

• Avoid drinking too much alcohol too fast. Pace yourself - eat enough food, take breaks, and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.

• If you don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come and get you; or just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober.

• Never let a friend get behind the wheel of their vehicle if you think they are about to drive while impaired.

• Always buckle up — it’s still your best defense against other impaired drivers.

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