As the Super Bowl finals near, the Fremont Police Department released a list of safety tips that football fans should make note of while attending the finals on Sunday.
Super Bowl Sunday is among the most dangerous days to be out on the road due to impaired drivers. In 2011, there were 181 crashes around Virginia and in 2012 there were 220 with 40 accidents that were alcohol-related, according to a government report. Last year, the number of reported accidents on Super Bowl Sunday fell to 173, including 24 related to drunk driving.
This year, the Fremont Police Department has released a list of safety tips to avoid any such incident. The department requests football fans to designate a sober driver while attending the finals this Sunday.
"We are asking football fans to plan ahead this Super Bowl Sunday - If you're planning to drink alcohol, make sure you have a non-drinking designated driver or another safe way home!," the department writes in a blog post.
Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) also teamed up with Tennessee Titans Tight End Delanie Walker to send across the same security message to football fans who plan to drink during the Super Bowl parties.
"MADD encourages football fans 'to play the most important position in the NFL: the designated driver.' In fact, MADD's game-day program with the NFL helped teams increase their designated driver sign-ups by seven percent in 2013," officials said in a report.
The Culpeper Police Department also urged football fans to have a "game plan" on getting back home. The department suggests that people planning to drink that night and those who don't have access to a sober designated driver should consider leaving their car keys at home. Instead, they should take a cab to the game.
The police department also requests party organizers to see that everyone drinking should have a safe ride home.
"Super Bowl party hosts are encouraged to serve plenty of food, make sure all guests consuming alcohol have a designated driver and to consider not serving alcohol during the fourth quarter of the game," Culpeper Deputy Police Chief Ricky Pinksaw said, according to Daily Progress.
