Make it a Super Safe and Sober Sunday: Designate a Driver

The California Highway Patrol wants you to enjoy Sunday’s Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

The CHP also wants you to be safe on the roads this weekend.

“Whether you like professional sports or not, it’s exciting,” Golden Gate Division Chief Teresa Becher said.  “The Giants won the World Series and now we have the 49ers in the Super Bowl.”

Although the Super Bowl is not hosted in San Francisco, the CHP understands gatherings will be hosted around the Bay Area to support the 49ers and their bid to win the Super Bowl.

Remember, though, what could happen in the amount of time it takes for a football to be fumbled or a pass to be dropped. That moment could be life altering.  

You hear a scream and the explosion of an airbag. You feel glass shatter onto your skin. The airbag deploys and burns across your forearms just before it slaps your face. You’re left to breathe in the gases released by the bag.

You hear voices and people yelling, “Call 911!” and then someone says it. The words you’ve been dreading because you’ve driven when you’ve been buzzed before and nothing ever happened. Why does this time have to be different? Why did you have a couple more than you planned? Why? Why? Why? You hear the sirens, but they’re not loud enough to drown out the voices, “Oh my god! I think she’s dead!”

The CHP urges everyone to use caution this weekend so that the festivities can be shared among the same group of friends in the future. It starts with a designated driver.

“Super Bowl Sunday is absolutely a time for us to celebrate, but we need to be responsible when it comes to driving,” Becher said.  “Please be prepared with a designated driver and then ensure your designated driver is sober. Let’s all do our part to keep our Bay Area roadways safe this Super Bowl.”

Let’s all hope for a good outcome too.