Plan ahead to get home safe this New Year’s Eve

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - State police in both Indiana and Kentucky are urging people not to drink and drive this New Year’s Eve.

Indiana State Police says they saw 922 crashes statewide last year on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. ISP says 174 people were injured in those accidents and 4 people died.

According to Kentucky State Police, the number of highway deaths went down by two in 2019 from the 713 that were recording the previous year. Troopers say that number is still too high, however, it’s trending downward since the 823 deaths in 2016.

KSP credits increased patrols and the public knowing that troopers will be on the lookout for things like seatbelt violations, aggressive driving, speeding, and impaired driving as reasons for that fatality number going down over in the last four years.

State troopers on both sides of the river are encouraging everyone to have a plan before they go out to ring in the new decade. They say having a designated driver, calling a sober friend, or even calling an Uber or Lyft, is a good way to make sure that you get home safely.

In Indiana, the local nonprofit Logan’s Promise is paying for Lyft rides on New Year’s Eve. Starting at 10 p.m. drivers will be able to use the promo code “LOGANS PROMISE” on Lyft to get a free ride up to $25.

The service will operate until 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Posey Counties.

Logan’s Promise Founder Charles Brown says that this is an important part of the organization’s mission to make sure everyone can get home safely.

“It’s going to be easy to do something wrong, but don’t let one bad choice change the rest of your life and we’re making the choice easy on you so take us up on it," Brown said.

Law enforcement and AAA are also reminding drivers that buzzed driving is drunk driving. They say many people will wake up with alcohol in their system the next morning and that can lead to dangerous driving behaviors.

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