Why New Year's Day is the Number One Day for DWIs

 Posted on December 26, 2024 in DUI/DWI

New Year’s Day is consistently the worst night of the year for drunk driving accidents and arrests. Most arrests happen in the hours just after midnight, when people who were out celebrating New Year’s Eve are trying to return home. More drunk driving fatalities happen on New Year’s Day than any other night of the year, likely due to the sheer volume of drunk drivers. While the cause of this might seem incredibly simple - a lot of people go out drinking to celebrate New Year’s Eve, so a lot of people are driving drunk - there are numerous other factors that contribute to the volume of drunk driving arrests and the deadliness of drunk driving accidents on this particular night. If you are charged with DWI or DWI with injury on New Year’s Day, you need an aggressive and well-qualified Houston, TX DWI attorney.

The Police Increase DWI Patrols on New Year’s Day

Law enforcement is very much aware that there will be a higher-than-average amount of drunk drivers in the early hours of New Year’s Day. This means that they are well-prepared to make a large amount of DWI arrests. Police often set up roadblocks and sobriety checkpoints and increase patrols along roads that lead away from bars and public spaces where people are expected to congregate. You are more likely to be pulled over for minor things that would not normally attract the attention of police.

Sober Rides Are Harder to Find 

Most nights of the year, a sober ride home is easy to come by if you happen to become more intoxicated than you planned to and cannot drive home. You normally have options like calling a friend or family member who did not go out that night to come get you or using a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft. On New Year’s Eve, you may have a much harder time finding someone who is sober and willing to pick you up. Rideshare services are in extremely high demand, meaning they might be very expensive and could take a long time to get to you. This prompts people to try to drive themselves when they should not.

Drunk Drivers Encounter Other Drunk Drivers 

One possible explanation for the increased likelihood of DWI-related injuries and deaths on New Year’s Day is that drunk drivers are likely encountering other drunk drivers. A sober driver may be able to take steps to prevent or mitigate a crash, like trying to steer out of the way of a drunk driver. If several drunk drivers are in the same area, they are more likely to have a serious collision, which may or may not involve other drivers who were sober.

Contact a Harris County, TX DWI Lawyer 

Murphy & McKinney Law Firm, P.C. can help if your New Year’s Eve celebration ended in serious DWI charges. Highly-qualified Houston, TX DWI attorney Doug Murphy will fight for you. Contact us at 713-229-8333 for a free consultation.