Elizabeth Carey, AAA Western and Central New York says unfortunately the holidays should be a very special time, but sometimes bad mistakes can lead to tragedies and one of those is if you don’t plan ahead. She says if you are going to a party or coming to the ball drop and you are going to be drinking and now a days it’s more than just alcohol, it could be marijuana, it could be prescription drugs, you cannot drive impaired, so you really need to plan ahead and that’s why we are telling everyone to celebrate responsibly.
Elizabeth says if you haven’t been downtown for the ball drop it is so exciting and exhilarating to be down there in person, to have the 97 Rock crew and Channel 7 and everyone is excited to actually see the ball drop in person. She says a lot of people are having house parties as well and if you can walk to a party in your neighborhood that’s of course ideal and if you’re are driving or course, we remind everyone to use Uber or ride sharing.
What tips does she have for driving safely in 2022? Elizbeth says, number one is to put that phone down and even throughout the pandemic, when people were driving less, we still saw crashes increase because they were so distracted with the phones and the masks and everything else and everything so immediate these days. She says we really need to separate the phone and the driving, so if are going to get behind the wheel commit to yourself that you are going to be a safe driver, put that phone down and show your kids you are a good role model and you are not going to drive with that phone in your hand.
Elizabeth says we want to protect our roadside workers, State police and police officers, garbage men and everybody else working on the side of the road so just remember, if you see a roadside worker, the law says you have to slow down and if it is safe, move over.
