Celebrate the Super Bowl safely: Don't drink and drive
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – No matter who you are pulling for this Sunday, law enforcement said we should all be on the same team, rooting for safe driving.
'We have a about 1000 people or so die on our roadways 50% of those are caused by drunk drivers,' said South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, Mitchell Ridgeway. 'Whether it's the drunk driver that was killed in the accident or a victim that was killed due to the drunk driving, about half of those fatalities are because of impaired driving.'
SCHP said that over the past three Super Bowls, there have been 63 collisions in the state that involved drugs or alcohol. Five of those collisions were fatal.
'We encourage people to have a good time and enjoy the big game and root for their team, but you've got to do it responsibly,' said Ridgeway. 'That way you don't go out there and make a bad decision, drink too much, then get behind the wheel. That could cost you your life or somebody else's life. That's the last thing we want to happen.'
The solution: make a plan long before you start drinking.
'After you have the drinks, you may not make the great decisions. So what is your plan?' Major Art Littlejohn with the Spartanburg Police said.
He suggested people stay over at the house they are celebrating at, call a rideshare, or have a designated driver for the night.
Littlejohn and Ridgeway said that if you drive intoxicated, you will be caught.
'Make sure that you have transportation and you plan that prior to, because officers are working,' Littlejohn explained. 'We have both shifts working, going to 10 p.m. hour and 2 a.m. hour.'
'That's our job as troopers,' said Ridgeway. 'To go out there and try to seek those people out and get them stopped and hopefully make an arrest and get them off the roadway. Hopefully those people learn that lesson and they never do it again. But it's better than the other option, they have the collision, and they get themselves killed or kill somebody else.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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