How to stay safe on the roads this New Year’s Eve

While New Year’s Eve is a time to celebrate and look to the future, it’s also a time to take caution in the present.

If you’re getting in a car tonight, here are basic safety tips according to Salisbury Police.

If you’re driving, don’t drink.

If you’re not driving, make sure the designated driver is sober and able to drive.

Always wear your seat belt , the driver of the car you’re in isn’t the only one to worry about.

If you don’t have a designated driver, just ask a bar tender. They will most likely have access to taxi cabs.

Josh Elliott, the GM at Roadie Joe’s bar, said “we have hundreds of taxi cards right behind the bar and all of the time we are more than happy to call people taxi cabs to come pick them up and they’re always right around the corner.”

According to numbers from the National Highway Safety Administration, last year 1 person died in a drunken driving related crash every 52 minutes, with those tragedies peaking in the time between 8 PM and 2 AM. It’s something to keep in mind as people get ready to party.

On New Year’s Eve, there will plenty of partying according to Elliott, he added “Last year was incredible. This is the second year more people know about it. We expect more people downtown.” and “We’re expecting it to be packed, expecting to have a lot of fun tonight.”

But if you’ve already had too much fun, don’t expect to get served. Elliott told me what his staff is trained to look for in those who have had a little too much to drink.

“their inhibitions, their judgements, their coordination, their reaction time will be a lot slower you can see it in their eyes a lot of times, if they start slurring speech or don’t really know what they want anymore, all of these we look for.” Said Elliott.

No matter how you plan to ring in 2015, do it the safe way, and make sure you’re around to celebrate 2016.