logo
Login Subscribe
Google Play App Store
  • News
    • Obituaries
    • Lifestyle
    • Opinions
  • Sports
  • E-edition
  • Calendar
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertisers
    • Form Submission
    • About Us
    • News
      • Obituaries
      • Lifestyle
      • Opinions
    • Sports
    • E-edition
    • Calendar
    • Archives
    • Contact
      • Contact Us
      • Advertisers
      • Form Submission
      • About Us
news
November 15, 2023
Stop the Blackout Trend on Thanksgiving Eve

Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving

The night before Thanksgiving is a time for many people to gather in their hometowns and celebrate the official start of the festive fall season.

On Thanksgiving Eve, also known as “Drinksgiving” or “Blackout Wednesday,” there is an increase in the overconsumption of alcohol. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is teaming up with the Eufaula Police Department, Checotah Police Department, and the McIntosh County Sheriff ’s Office to make sure you make it to the Thanksgiving table.

Before you head out to the parties on Thanksgiving Eve, it’s essential to take some time to remember that Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. If your plans to celebrate include alcohol, plan for a sober driver.

“It is critical that anyone heading out to a bar or party take precaution and plan for a sober driver to see them home safely,” said Eufaula Police Chief David Bryning. “Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving Eve celebration has become a particularly dangerous night on the roads. We want our drivers to take this night seriously. This is a dangerous trend. Driving drunk is deadly, and no one should ever take that risk.”

NHTSA data shows that 13,384 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involved alcohol- impaired drivers in 2021. This represented 31% of all traffic fatalities in the United States for the year, and a 14.2% increase from 2020.

From November 2017 to November 2021, 137 drivers involved in fatal crashes on Thanksgiving Eve (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were alcohol impaired.

In 2021 alone, 36 drivers were alcoholimpaired in fatal crashes on Thanksgiving Eve. During those same years in November, young drivers ages 21-24 represented the largest percentage (44%) of alcohol- impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes on Thanksgiving Eve.

As holiday parties increase during this festive season, do not contribute to these senseless deaths by driving drunk. This is why the Eufaula Police Department, Checotah Police Department, and the McIntosh County Sheriff ’s Office are working together with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is a matter of life and death.

Remember: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.

“The idea of Blackout Wednesday is really a shame,” said Chief Bryning. “We understand that people want to have a good time, but memories should last a lifetime, not be over before they start. We want everyone to make it to the Thanksgiving table. Please, if you plan to be out drinking, make a plan for a safe ride home.”

Nationally, it is illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, except in Utah, where the limit is .05 g/dL. And the costs can be financial, too: If you’re caught drinking and driving, you could face jail time, lose your driver’s license and your vehicle, and pay up to $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, car towing, higher insurance rates, and lostwages.

No one should mix drinking and driving, and no one is immune to the effects of drunk driving. If you find yourself drunk and stranded with your vehicle, give your keys to a sober driver who can safely drive you home. Remind your friends to never get in the vehicle with a drunk driver.

If you have a friend who is about to drive drunk, take away their keys and help them get home safely. Don’t worry about offending someone — you might be saving their life, or someone else’s.

Always have a plan before you head out for the evening. If you wait until after you’ve been drinking to figure out how to get from one place to the next, you may already be too impaired to make the right choices.

There are plenty of options to help impaired drivers get home safely, such as designating a sober driver. If you see a drunk driver on the road, do not hesitate to contact local Law Enforcement.

By working together, we can save lives and help keep America’s roadways safe.

Please join us in sharing the lifesaving message Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving during the holiday weekend.

For more information, please visit https:// www.nhtsa.gov/riskydriving/ drunk-driving.

Jefferson Highway keeps on rollin’
A: Main, news
Jefferson Highway keeps on rollin’
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
Long before Route 66, there was the Jefferson Highway. Route 66 was a federally funded, 2,448-mile highway that crossed the country going east and west from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, Californ...
A: Main, news
Jacob Foos re-hired as Eufaula City Manager
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
It was a surprise hire, but not a total surprise as former Eufaula City Manager Jacob Foos was rehired as Eufaula’s city manager. The hiring took place following an executive session at a special meet...
A: Main, news
Complications of finding a city manager
June 11, 2025
Jeb Jones resigned as city manager in April. He was hired in 2022 to replace Jacob Foos, who had resigned months earlier and became assistant city manager in the City of Shawnee. Andrea Weckmuel-ler B...
A: Main, news
LEA Poker Run Saturday
June 11, 2025
The Golden Eagle Poker Run, one of the most popular events on Lake Eufaula, is Saturday, June 14. This year’s theme is Pirates & Parrots, so get your crew and costumes ready for a day of high seas adv...
McIntosh County Democrat wins Sequoyah Award
A: Main, news
McIntosh County Democrat wins Sequoyah Award
June 11, 2025
The Oklahoma Press Association presented its Better Newspaper Contest Awards during the OPA Annual convention June 6-7, at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Shawnee. The top award a newspaper can r...
A: Main, news
Commissioners getting an increase in road spending
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta, announced some good news and some bad news at the Monday morning Monthly County Commissioner meeting. First, the bad news, at least for those who oppose wind turbines in the ...
ePaper
google_play
app_store
Editor Picks
Bridge dedicated to World War II veteran
A: Main, news
Bridge dedicated to World War II veteran
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation recently honored the late veteran William “Bill” Antrum Fox Jr. by naming a bridge after him. The William A. Fox Jr. Memorial Bridge is on SH 9 East at Nine M...
A: Main, news
Ten Mile Yard Sale this weekend
June 11, 2025
Bring an umbrella Bargain hunters set your alarms. The annual 10-milelong yard sale begins at 7 a.m. Sunday, stretching from the east end of Eufaula, down SH 9 east through Longtown and past Enterpris...
Preliminary set for 2 suspected of killing Eufaulan
news
Preliminary set for 2 suspected of killing Eufaulan
June 11, 2025
Two Muskogee men charged with killing a Eufaula resident were ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing in district court at 10 a.m., Thursday, July 3. Suspects Kyren Omari Boulware, 19, and Michael ...
2 dead, 4 injured in pileup
news
2 dead, 4 injured in pileup
June 11, 2025
Two people from Marshall, Texas were killed, and four others were injured in a harrowing four-vehicle pileup on U.S. 69 half a mile south of the Muskogee City Limits at about 2:20 p.m. on Monday, June...
Fink inducted into OPA Half Century Club
news
Fink inducted into OPA Half Century Club
June 11, 2025
Managing Editor Jerry Fink of The Eufaula Indian Journal and the McIntosh County Democrat was inducted into the Oklahoma Press Association Half Century Club on Saturday, June 7 at the Grand in Shawnee...
Facebook

THE EUFAULA INDIAN JOURNAL
100 2nd Street
Eufaula, OK 74432

(918) 689-2191

This site complies with ADA requirements

© 2023 THE EUFAULA INDIAN JOURNAL

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Policy