With holiday parties ramping up, it’s an important time to plan ahead, so everyone gets home safely. 

At this week’s Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission, the Police Department shared the latest data on injury collisions. Speeding remains the top cause, which is why the City of Carlsbad has been making changes to local roads that will slow down traffic. The second highest cause was driving under the influence.

The Police Department recently secured two new grants from the Office of Traffic Safety, one for $200,000 focused on ongoing enforcement and education programs, and another for $40,000 specifically to reduce alcohol-related harm in the community.

So, while Police will be out in greater force, we also need our community members to do their part to keep Carlsbad safe:

• Don’t drive to your gathering in the first place. If you don’t have your car, you won’t be tempted to drive home when you shouldn’t.
• Have the number for a taxi service in your phone, download ride-share apps and set up your accounts so they’re ready to use.
• Arrange in advance to spend the night.
• Understand how blood alcohol levels work. The legal limit for those 21 and older is .08. For those under 21, any amount of alcohol in the blood is an automatic DUI.  

In addition to the potential for harming yourself and another person, driving under the influence has significant penalties, including having your license temporarily suspended on the first offense, as well as fines, attorneys fees, impound fees and increases to your auto insurance premium for three years. 

If you are the host …

Providing alcohol to those under 21 is illegal in California. Here in Carlsbad, we have taken an additional step to prevent underage drinking, which is something called a social host ordinance. This ordinance specifically states that you may not provide an environment where underage drinking takes place, even if you don’t directly provide the alcohol. 

The person responsible could include the person who owns or rents the premises, the person in charge of the premises or the person who organized the event. Violation of this ordinance is a misdemeanor with penalties starting at $1,000.

Our state of emergency on traffic safety may have ended, but the mission continues. If you haven’t already, consider taking our Safer Streets Together pledge and ask your family members to do the same.