Efforts to prevent car crashes during Super Bowl weekend ramp up

The Super Bowl is arguably the biggest sporting event in our country. With fans celebrating with recreational marijuana and alcohol, the dangers of impaired driving are on high alert. The last five Super Bowl weekends saw more than two-thousand DUI crashes, 800 serious injuries, and 50 fatalities. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MAAD, has partnered with the Auto Club and law enforcement in LA to remind everyone to drive sober.

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Our hometown team, Los Angeles Rams, is playing at SoFi this weekend. Fans are excited, but that doesn’t make safe driving less necessary.

Doug Shupe, Auto Club’s representative, wants to make sure people remember to get home responsibly.

DOUG SHUPE: We know that they’re very excited, but we want to remind them that if they don’t plan ahead before, this celebration could turn into a tragedy.

California Highway Patrol officer, Chris Baldono said his team is taking maximum measures for safety.

CHRIS BALDONO: We’re going to be maximum deployment, always known as MEP maximum enforcement. So we’re going to be utilizing all officers to make sure that everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to be doing. You know, a good day is a quiet day.

This is especially important for people like Janelle Weinberg who lost her daughter Ariel to a drunk driver in 2013. Weinberg expressed worries about the weekend and urged people to make the right choice.

JANELLE WEINBERG: They ended up crashing into a power pole, slamming into a building, coming to a stop where my daughter died instantly.

Dominic Johnson, Ariel’s brother, said that drunk driving doesn’t just affect one person. It can be a permanent scar.

DOMINIC JOHNSON: All I can say is that you need to think about your family and then also even yourself, think about yourself because you do have an effect on your loved ones. So imagine yourself now being there the next day and then then flip on the reverse. Imagine you hurting somebody where they don’t go home the next day. It’s a big deal. You know, it’s not a simple thing like you hurt someone and you’re not going to heal from this. You know, your bones heal and things like that. But losing someone permanently and forever. That’s a set in stone thing.

Ultimately, MAAD Executive Director Georgina Avilez wants to remind everyone to just cut costs by driving safe.

GEORGINA ALVINEZ: When you look in the long run of a DUI can cost you over $22000 when a ride share can simply cost you a few extra dollars. And so, you know, again, save a life. You know, we want to make sure that everyone comes home safely. So that way we can continue their celebrations coming forward.

As the Super Bowl weekend nears, remember to make driving arrangements alongside your party plans.