While New Year’s Eve and Day can be some of the most dangerous times of the year, they also allow us the opportunity to start afresh. New Year’s resolutions are a promise to ourselves that this year will be better than the year before. If you haven’t done so already, make one of your New Year’s resolutions will be to do your best to stay safe. Here are a few safety tips for you and your loved ones to take during the rest of the year.
Split Cab Fare with Friends
If you and your friends are out enjoying a drink, share a cab, Uber, or Lyft to reach a common destination. Naming a designated driver is also an alternative option, but if your DD also likes to drink, splitting a cab will ensure everyone has a good time and stays safe on the drive home after.
Have a Sleepover
To guarantee no one drives home unsafely, bring a sleeping bag to a friend’s house and spend the night on their couch or floor if they don’t have a spare bedroom. While you may just prefer to crash once you get there, you could also use it as an opportunity to catch up or watch movies until sleep takes over. In the morning, you can have a glass of water and drive home safely knowing you’re more alert and your reactions are faster now that you’ve had a good rest and have sobered up.
Stay Indoors
While it may not be as fun as going outside to watch the fireworks during New Year’s Eve or Independence Day, staying inside the house will protect you from most of the dangers of celebratory gunfire and fireworks. While celebratory gunfire is illegal in many states, people are still injured every year by stray bullets. Between 1985 and 1992, the doctors at King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles treated about 118 people for random falling-bullet injuries, 38 of whom died of their wounds. If you stay home instead of going out during celebrations, you can also avoid driving on roads where drunk drivers are more likely to cause traffic accidents. Driving on Halloween can also be particularly dangerous, as many people drink at costume parties and attempt to drive home afterward.
Keep an Eye on the Fire
When you’re cooking, don’t leave your kitchen appliances unattended. Cooking equipment is the primary cause of reported home structure fires and injuries. There are also hundreds of injuries every year as a result of fireworks, faulty wiring, and fire being too close to household decor. Replacing fire-reliant candles with battery-operated ones will decrease your likelihood of starting a fire, as will turning off any electrics when you’re away from your home or going to sleep.
Keep yourself and your family safe this year, and make sure the rest of your holidays are filled with happy memories of celebration rather than visits to the emergency room. If you’ve already been injured as the result of celebration, you may need to seek legal representation.
Contact us to speak to one of our Milwaukee personal injury attorneys for a free case consultation.
