Celebrating Safely on the Fourth

Fourth of July celebrations are a time for fun, food and friends. Unfortunately, July 4th is also the deadliest day of the year on our roads due to alcohol-related car crashes. So while you are enjoying the festivities, please keep in mind the following tips for a safe celebration!

1. Plan Ahead

• Plan ahead and designate a driver if you’re planning on drinking at a party.
• Use alternative transportation like taxi cabs or public transit to get to and from an event.

2. Celebrate Responsibly

• If youth are present at your celebration, keep in mind that adult behavior makes a big impression them. Be a good role model.
• Keep track of how many drinks you’ve had and how quickly you’ve consumed them.
• Eat while you drink, specifically high protein foods like meats and cheeses that stay in the stomach longer, thereby slowing the body’s alcohol absorption rate.

3. Never Let Youth Under 21 Consume Alcohol

• Letting youth drink puts them at risk for a number of harms, including damage to the developing brain, making poor decisions, alcohol poisoning, injuries and death.
  
• Allowing youth to drink alcohol in monitored settings sends them the message that it is ok for them to drink and increases the likelihood that they will drink in other unmonitored settings in the future.

4. Tend the Bar

• Have non-alcoholic beverage options available.
• Keep the alcohol consumption under control by designating a bartender to mix the drinks
• Never serve anyone underage.
• Don’t serve anyone who appears to be impaired

5. Take the Keys

• NEVER allow an impaired friend or guest to get behind the wheel.
• Step up and offer to call your friend a cab, let them sleep it off or find a sober friend to give them a ride.

Have a fun and SAFE holiday!

For more information on how to get involved in efforts to reduce excessive drinking and youth access to alcohol, contact the Novato Blue Ribbon Coalition for Youth Project Coordinator, Jasmine Freese at 415-798-5329 or jasmine@novatoblueribbon.org.  Also, please visit the Coalition's website, www.novatoblueribbon.org, or the website of our partner Healthy Novato, healthynovato.org, for information on what parents and families can do to prevent youth from drinking.