Practice being an MVP on the roads and you’ll score big this Super Bowl Weekend when you focus on staying safe.    

Super Bowl Weekend is a time to cheer on your favorite team (or against your not-as-favorite rival), watch celebrity-fueled big-budget mega commercials, compare half-time shows of present to half-time shows of yesteryear, create a few memes, post a few (a lot) of thoughts on the game to social media, and be with friends and family to watch some football played on the biggest stage in the world. 

But sadly, the weekend’s also the championship of a game you definitely don’t want to play: The Super Bowl of Car Crashes.  

It’s pretty common to hear people make this comparison getting into a collision… and those are just the lucky ones who walk away.    

Always keep your game face on when steering the wheel. And don’t get benched: use a designated driver if you’ve been drinking. If you get a DUI, your wallet will take quite the wallop too. 

Let’s play armchair quarterback here and offer some game-changing tips on how to navigate the best playbook to ensure you’re safe on the roads. 

Studies have actually shown that Saturday is the day that runs off the field with the leading number of fatalities — 7.84% higher. Think about it: Fans often pre-game and celebrate in anticipation of the big event.  

So while Super Bowl Sunday may get the focus for football and drinking — the whole weekend sees rises in collisions and fatalities.    

This includes the following Monday as well, when people may still be hungover. The lesson here: be extra vigilant on the roads all weekend long (and better yet, all year long).

Sure, your mind might be on the big match-up, considering it’s being played on the biggest stage in the world — but the really big game is that thing called ‘life.’    

It’s estimated that Americans guzzle 325.5 million gallons of beer on game day — in a country with a total of not quite 333 million people. So yeah, that’s a lot of beer. And while a frothy brew might mix very well with hot dogs and chips, it’s a deadly pairing with a moving vehicle.   

Remember, it’s not just illegal to drink and drive with a blood alcohol concentration level (BAC) of 0.08% or higher — unless you’re in Utah; then it’s 0.05% — but it’s obviously a leading cause of fatal collisions. That’s ‘game over.’ 

Even if you’re under the BAC limit, any alcohol whatsoever can impair your judgment.  

So if you’ve had anything to drink: either wait till it’s out of your system (if you’ve only had a serving) — or if you’ve had a few, then find a designated driver at the party, ask your host if you can sleep over, or call a rideshare from the bar. 

You’ve heard it before: Don’t Drink and Drive — but don’t Text and Drive either.  And that idea also goes for scrolling your phone for after-game play-by-plays on ESPN, looking at the pics on your friends’ feeds of their parties, PM’ing your best bud, or rewatching your favorite commercial.   If you’re not focused on the road for any reason, you shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

If you’re hosting, keep in mind some important touchdown-winning plays, like snagging friends’ keys before they drink up.  You can also take a cue from some stadiums, and stop serving drinks at the end of the third quarter of the game. The fourth quarter can be all about the guac and the chips (kidding, the entire game can be all about the guac).  Speaking of which, offer your guests plenty of food options all day long. The usual carb and greasy-loaded cornucopia of chicken wings, pizza, burgers, and potato chips aren’t only Super Bowl party staples because they’re good (okay, awesome) — but they help slow down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. And they’ll help guests fill up on something other than beer. 

Naturally, big game weekends are always prime weekends for collisions — whether it’s the Super Bowl, the Playoffs, the World Series, March Madness, or any other game in a sports-loving town.  

Be on the offense all year long with more safety tips from our blog, including 5 Ways to Avoid Distracted Driving, Break Up With Bad Driving Habits, and Car Fires: Can it Happen to You?

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