How to Avoid a New Year’s DWI

New Year’s Eve celebrations often involve a party, and a party often includes alcohol. Unfortunately, Texas leads the nation in crashes and fatalities due to drunk driving. Make the holidays festive and safe by drinking responsibly. Here’s some information to help keep the season merry and bright. Happy New Year, y’all!

BAC can continue to rise after you’ve stopped drinking. Why? Absorption rates. It takes, on average, 30 to 60 minutes (or longer) for alcohol to make its way into the bloodstream.

Did you know? 
A social host in Texas is not liable for the actions of those at the party who choose to drink. That changes, though, if the host knows the partygoer is a minor or gives car keys to an intoxicated adult. Violations are punishable by as much as $4,000 in fines and up to one year of incarceration.  

Texas’ legal limit for intoxication is .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). BAC is the percentage of ethanol in proportion to the amount of blood in the body. For .08 BAC, there is 8/10 of a milliliter of alcohol per every 1,000 milliliters of blood in the body. Because it’s a ratio, weight is important; what’s .08 BAC for a 140-pound woman is different than what’s .08 BAC for a 200-pound man (in one hour, just over 2 drinks versus 4 drinks, respectively).  To see complete blood alcohol percentage charts, visit tabc.org 

Liquor then beer; never fear. Beer before liquor; never been sicker. FALSE. Alcohol is alcohol, and is all processed by the body in the same manner. 

“Passenger area” is defined in Texas as the area where people sit while traveling in the car. That means the back seat, too. So handing an open container off to someone else is still going to get you in trouble. And it doesn’t matter whether the car is moving or parked on a public highway.

Need a ride? If you’ve had too much to drink and need to get home safely, here are some options:

Austin Sober Ride = free cab ride home from 11 p.m.– 3 a.m.  

Capital Metro = all services are free after 6 p.m., including Night Owls (a special service in the entertainment district that runs every 30 minutes from 8th and Colorado Street, between midnight and 3 a.m.)  
capmetro.org; 512-474-1200

Sober Rides = use the RideFinder app, which provides options for planning rides, from pedicabbing it to phoning a friend 
soberrides.org

Sober Monkeys = professional designated drivers to take you and your car home  
sobermonkeys.com; 512-808-9232

Tipsy Taxi Austin = drives you and your car home for a fee (rates vary)
512-848-4553

TipsyTow = AAA gives free ride and a tow (up to 10-mile distance)
1-800-222-4357

My Private Driver = A driver takes you home in your own car (rates based on day of the week, time, pick up and drop-off location)
myprivatedriver.com; 512-733-5700

Be My DD= A driver takes you home in your own vehicle (rates start at $14 an hour) bemydd.com/our_services; 1-877-823-6933