Staying safe on the roads during ‘Blackout Wednesday’
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is a historically busy travel day across the country, but Wednesday night is also known as one of the biggest drinking nights of the year.
Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is a historically busy travel day across the country, but Wednesday night is also known as one of the biggest drinking nights of the year.
The night before Thanksgiving can be known as ‘Whiskey Wednesday,’ ‘Drinksgiving,’ or perhaps the most common name of ‘Blackout Wednesday.’ People are known to go out and celebrate not having to work the following day, while also reconnecting with friends from home.
“Wednesday night before Thanksgiving we know is a big time for friends who haven’t seen each other to catch up, or for family to come to town,” said Trooper David Jones with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Because it’s a popular drinking night, that means it’s also one of the more dangerous nights to be out on the roads.
“Wednesday before Thanksgiving, historically, we see where we make a lot of DUI arrests,” said Jones.
Jones said Highway Patrol knows people go out and drink the night before Thanksgiving, and they’re prepared with patrols.
“The South Carolina Highway Patrol is going to be teaming up with other law enforcement agencies, and we’re going to be out in full force looking for people that made that poor decision,” he said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 800 people died on this day from 2013 through 2017.
“We often say we want to ‘stop the knock.’ This holiday period, we don’t want to knock on any more doors,” said Jones.
The Administration also reported that in 2018, 133 people died in alcohol-related crashes from Wednesday evening through the following Monday morning.
“Don’t risk not only getting a DUI, but don’t risk hurting yourself or hurting somebody else,” said Jones. “We’re going to have a trooper every 10 miles on the interstate, as well as troopers flooding our back roads.”
No matter how you celebrate the holiday weekend, just make sure you have a safe ride home.
“If you’re going to go out and celebrate tonight, or you’re going to go out and celebrate the rest of the weekend, even after Carolina wins this weekend, don’t be the person to get behind the wheel of a car,” said Jones.
If you don’t have a designated driver, Lyft and Uber are two safe ways to get a ride home. Jones said make sure you have a plan on how to get home before you head out.
