When you leave the house with plans to drink, do you consider how you are going to get home? Getting behind the wheel after having even just a few drinks can be dangerous to yourself, pedestrians and other drivers.
Impaired driving is 100% preventable and many IUPUI students are trying to eliminate impaired driving altogether -- and you can, too. The week of October 18-22 is National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week (NCAAW), which aims to bring attention to issues posed by excessive drinking among college students.
In the spring of 2021, 6.2% of IUPUI students reported that they had driven a car under the influence in the last 12 months of the survey. That is huge progress compared to 2010, when 23.5% of students recorded drinking and driving. The Health and Wellness Promotion team wants to reduce that percentage to zero.
If you find yourself in a situation where you know you will be drinking away from home, it’s important to have a game plan. It’s illegal everywhere in the U.S. to drink and drive. Here are some tips on staying safe.
- Choose a designated driver, or volunteer to be one.
- Have Uber and/or Lyft accounts set up on your mobile phone.
- Decide where your group will go and when you’ll leave.
- Determine in advance how much you’ll drink.
- Eat before and during drinking (eating after doesn’t help much).
During NCAAW, the entire IUPUI community is encouraged to join the #JagsDriveSober movement and pledge to not drink and drive or ride with someone who has been drinking. The pledge can be signed virtually or can be physically signed in the Health and Wellness Promotion office, Campus Center room 350.
If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol misuse, there is help within Health and Wellness Promotion (HWP). Students can receive a free substance screening and brief intervention from HWP, or they can use the Indiana Addiction Treatment Locator.