7 ways to stop someone from driving drunk

When you decide to have a fun birthday bash with your friends or celebrate a promotion or moving into a new place, you likely are more than ready to have some fun. Maybe the weather is going to be perfect, so you are going to host a big grill out, play cornhole and enjoy some signature drinks. At some point, one of your friends may get carried away and have more than a few drinks. As you wind down the party, you know your buddy is in no condition to drive. You don’t want anyone to get hurt, so you don’t want your friend to drive home.

What are the best ways to prevent someone from driving while drunk? Here are seven tips to keep in mind:

1. Don’t become confrontational. You want to avoid raising your voice and becoming angry with your friend. You don’t want to end up in a fight where your buddy storms off and drives home.
2. Offer to call a cab, an Uber or find a sober driver to take your friend home.
3. Allow your friend to stay at your place for the night, so he can drive home tomorrow when he is sober.
4. Take everyone’s keys before you begin your party, so you can control who drives home and who doesn’t.
5. Tell your friend how much you care about him and others on the road and how you don’t want him to cause a tragic drunk driving accident.
6. Have some of your other friends help you convince your intoxicated buddy that he shouldn’t drive home.
7. Call law enforcement if you have to. Yes, having your friend arrested will likely impact your relationship. However, could you live with yourself if you allowed him to drive drunk and hurt himself or someone else?

Unfortunately, alcohol intoxication plays a big role in causing motor vehicle accidents. In 2019 in the United States, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired crashes, accidents in which drivers had more than .08 blood alcohol concentrations.

No one wants to lose a close friend in a drunk driving crash or see a friend end up facing serious criminal charges after a fatal drunk driving crash. Being brave enough to stop a friend from driving drunk is something you won’t regret in the long run.