New Year’s Eve

Out with the old, in with the new—but celebrate safely

New Year’s Eve is here again. Party time, even though the day falls on Sunday this year. The local bars and clubs will be full of happy people, celebrating, dancing and singing, waiting for the midnight hour to greet 2018 with kisses and champagne, black-eyed peas and cornbread.

For the most part, even the most festive among us will awake tomorrow morning to greet New Year’s Day with a throbbing head and queasy stomach as the price to pay for too much fun.

Unfortunately, others will pay a heavier toll. For them, their wake-up call will come in jail or the hospital. If it comes at all.

Whenever you have a lot of people out drinking, the incidence of drunken driving goes up. So do arrests. So do accidents.

And it’s not just the party animals who are at risk. Some call New Year’s Eve “amateur night for drunks.” That’s because it’s the one night of the year some otherwise sensible people choose to have too much to drink and get behind the wheel. But here are some sobering thoughts. The police will be out in force tonight. If you celebrate with adult beverages, don’t let the good times and liquid courage dull your senses and lead you into believing you are safe to drive. You aren’t.

You could wind up behind bars, facing a hefty fine, drivers’ license suspension and much higher insurance rates. And that’s if you are lucky. You might end up in the hospital. Or the morgue. Or you might send someone else to one of the two. Think about it. Think hard. We don’t like to be party poopers. But it had to be said.

Enjoy yourselves. See the new year in as you see fit.

But do so safely. If you drink, call a cab, text Uber or designate a driver who doesn’t indulge.

Make 2018 your best year ever. Don’t let a drunken driving arrest make it your worst.

And don’t let a senseless tragedy make it the last year for you or anyone else.