DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog

If you're hosting a holiday party this season, keep in mind that a responsible host protects his or her friends and loved ones by planning in advance to prevent drunk driving.  To help with that advance planning, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) offers the following holiday party safety tips to help ensure that your seasonal get-together is both successful and safe:

"What Every Host Needs to Know:

• Don’t rely on coffee to sober up your guests. Only time can make someone sober.
• Beer and wine are just as intoxicating as hard liquor. A 12-ounce can of beer, a five-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce wine cooler and an ounce and a half of liquor contain the same amount of alcohol.
• Don’t rely on someone’s physical appearance to determine if he or she has had too much to drink.
• Mixers won’t help dilute alcohol. Carbonated mixers like club soda or tonic water cause alcohol to be absorbed into a person’s system more quickly. Fruit juice and other sweet mixers mask the taste of alcohol and may cause people to drink more.

Office Parties:

• Arrange for discounted or complimentary rooms when a party is held at a hotel so employees won’t drive home impaired.
• Hire a shuttle or limousine service to provide transportation for those that have been drinking. Promote the designated driver concept in party invitations.
• Do not push drinks!
• If you provide an open bar, be sure the bartender has had server training to prevent over-serving and serving guests under the legal drinking age.
• Hold a contest for employees to create non-alcoholic drink recipes.

Planning A Party with Polish:

• Plan activities like party games, door prize drawings or amateur fortune-telling. Planned activities engage people, make for less active consumption of alcohol and ensure that your friends remember the great event long after the last piece of confetti has settled.
• As guests RSVP, confirm that at least one person in each group is prepared to be the non-drinking designated driver.
• Provide plenty of food to keep your guests from drinking on an empty stomach.
• Avoid too many salty snacks, which tend to make people thirsty and drink more.
• Offer non-alcoholic beverages or mocktails for designated drivers and others who prefer not to drink alcohol.
• If preparing an alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base, like fruit juice. Alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream faster with a carbonated base.
• Be prepared by having the number of a taxi service on hand for those who need a ride. Also, be ready with some clean linens so you can turn your sofa into a hotel for guests who need to sleep it off.

During Your Party: