JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As people continue to celebrate Independence Day, officials are warning people to drink responsibly. The National Safety Council predicts 600 people will die in a crash during the July 4th holiday period.
“The worst thing I’ve seen is a fatality on the roadway due to drunk driving,” said Ben McCorkel, a defensive driving instructor with the Northeast Florida Safety Council.
McCorkel is also a former sheriff’s deputy. He said deadly crashes can happen in a matter of seconds, and it’s important to look for the signs of a drunk driver.
“Not using turn signals, erratic braking, running red lights, stopping way short of the intersection of a stop sign or red light. Any violation of a traffic violation, that’s probable cause for law enforcement to pull you over in the first place,” McCorkel said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 538 people died in crashes over the July 4th holiday in 2021, and 39% of those deadly crashes involved someone who was driving drunk.
McCorkel said that’s why it’s extremely important to remain alert on the roads and practice defensive driving, no matter the time of day.
“Driving under the influence is not just a nighttime offense. People do it during the daytime as well,” McCorkel sad. “Especially during the holidays. People don’t understand when they’re drinking how it makes them feel. They get out here and they eat, talk, they don’t pay attention to how much they already had.”
He said to give yourself enough distance from a person you suspect may be driving drunk and contact authorities.
McCorkel also has a message for anyone considering drinking or driving:
“If you can’t get a ride and you drive and drink and you’re pulled over by law enforcement, they’ll give you a ride. They’ll give you a ride to jail. And that’s someplace you don’t want to go to.”
AAA has also activated its Tow to Go service in Florida through 6 a.m. Wednesday. The program, available to members and non-members of AAA, dispatches a tow truck to transport a driver and vehicle to a safe location within a 10-mile radius for free. But AAA emphasizes the service should be used for emergencies and drivers should plan ahead so they won’t need it.