An important message for New Jersey drivers leading up to Thanksgiving

We are just about a week away from celebrating Thanksgiving, but some tend to celebrate a little too hard with how much they imbibe.

I’m not here to shame anyone for drinking adult beverages over Thanksgiving weekend. Hell, it’s nearly a staple of the holiday (how else are we supposed to get through multiple gatherings with our families?).

That said, driving while under the influence of alcohol becomes a disturbingly large problem over holiday weekends with the massive number of travelers.

Researchers at Murphy & Prachthauser analyzed drunk driving crash data during the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas over five years with help from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The findings for the Garden State are pretty disturbing.

How bad is drunk driving in New Jersey?

We see the biggest increase in crashes per day compared to every other state.

According to the study, the average crashes per day on a non-holiday in New Jersey is 1.76.

On Thanksgiving, the average number of crashes jumps up to 4.50.

That means we experiences a 156% increase in crashes per day compared to a typical week.

Christmas isn’t great either.

The average number of crashes on Christmas Day in the Garden State is 3.25, making it an 84>8% increase.

So my message to you?

Don’t do it.

People tend to take driving drunk far too lightly, in my opinion.

There was someone who used to be in my life who would stupidly chalk up driving drunk as maneuvering the roads “like one big video game.”

But it’s not. There are lives at stake.

We live in the age of Uber and Lyft, there’s no reason to be driving while impaired. It’s not just you that can get hurt, you can just as easily hurt others.

Stay safe this holiday season!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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