When you and your friends go out for a night of fun and drinking, it may be easy to overconsume alcohol. After all, when the conversation and the drinks are flowing, you might get lost in the moment and forget about important things, such as how to get home safely after.
When you are out bar- or club-hopping with a group of friends, assigning a designated driver may be the key to getting home safely – and legally.
Choosing a designated driver
Nominating a responsible party to drive you home every time you go out as a group can keep all of you out of trouble from law enforcement and away from road accidents. Your designated driver will ideally forego alcohol altogether. They need to be awake, alert and aware of their surroundings once you hit the road on your way home.
Whoever your group chooses will need to be responsible for your entire group getting home safely. They need a valid license and an updated car insurance. They also need to be able to follow traffic rules, stay within the speed limit and ensure that no violations will occur.
It might be tempting to drive home anyway especially if you feel that you are physically fine and did not imbibe enough alcohol. It may be a good idea to err on the safe side and leave matters into the hands of your designated driver so you can avoid DUI charges.
Switching it up
Having just one designated driver may be exhausting for the party involved – not to mention, unfair. Everybody deserves to have fun and let loose, so it may be a good idea to have a fair rotation system that switches up the designated driver role each time. This way, everyone in your friend group gets an equal share of responsibility.
Having a designated driver may seem like too much work as far as nights out are concerned, but this extra step may be the key to your safety and avoiding a DUI charge.
