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Halloween is our second favorite holiday, only Christmas tops it. Equally popular with kids and adults, costumes, candy, cards and party decoration sales are expected to reach $7.4 billion nationwide. The most popular Halloween costume in Utah this year, based on Google searches, is Captain America.
While Halloween is supposed to be fun—full of goblins, ghouls and scary monsters, there is a serious side. Alcoholic spirits and beverages consumed at adult parties are causing a terrifying rise of impaired-driving-related automobile and pedestrian deaths.
Some frightening facts about impaired driving and Halloween, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
- Fatalities increase by 37 percent when Halloween falls on a weekend rather than a weekday.
- Drunk driving crashes kill three times as many people on Halloween than on New Year's Eve.
- More than 50 percent of all crashes that happened on Halloween last year involved an impaired driver.
- In 2012, 23 percent of the pedestrian fatalities occurring on Halloween involved a driver with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit.
It is important for everyone to be smart about their celebrating. If you're going to drink, don't drive—designate a sober driver or let us help get you home safely.
Reimbursements for cab rides
Get reimbursed for a cab ride from 3 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 30 to 3 a.m., Saturday, November 1, 2014. Any adult 21 and older can be reimbursed up to $35 for a cab ride within the Salt Lake metro area. You can use any cab company and be taken from a bar or a restaurant and be driven to your home.
This is the fifth year Robert J. Debry & Associates has offered the free cab ride program. See the full schedule of free cab rides offers for the upcoming holiday season.
A quick reference of contact information for cab companies in Salt Lake City:
- City Cab 801-363-5550
- Taxi SLC Utah 801-253-2500
- Ute Cab 801-359-7788
- Yellow Cab Utah 801-521-2100
Some other tips to help you celebrate safely this year:
- Make plan to get home safely—A celebration should be just that, it shouldn't turn into a tragedy. Make a plan to designate a sober driver, get a free cab ride home or stay the night at a friend's house or at a hotel.
- Take care of those designated drivers—If you're hosting a party, have a variety of non-alcoholic drink options available.
- Be alert—If you see a drunk driver on the road call 9-1-1.
- Be a friend—Take their keys, call a cab, get them a room. Do what it takes to ensure the safety of your friend and family too. Don't let them drink and drive.
