Thanksgiving is a holiday full of gratitude and good company. It’s also the beginning of the holiday season when binge drinking rates increase drastically. “Blackout Wednesday” is the unofficial name for the day before Thanksgiving Thursday, and many Americans treat this as a big night of drinking. While Thanksgiving itself isn’t infamous for being a holiday with excessive drinking, the night before can be very risky especially for drivers. Police departments across the country recognize Blackout Wednesday as one of the busiest nights for bars, which means increased numbers of drunk drivers.
Blackout Wednesday began as a college tradition, where students go out binge drinking to kickstart the long weekend. From 2016-2020, drivers ages 21-24 represented 44% of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes in Thanksgiving Eve. If you have young people in your life, educate them on the dangers of drinking and driving drunk. Instead, you can open up your home to host a game, pizza, or movie night to provide a fun and safe alternative to Blackout Wednesday. Consider your safety and the safety of those you love this Thanksgiving.
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