A DUI carries a weight that can haunt a driver for a lifetime but there are a lot of choices available to avoid a DUI. Here are some tips to follow for those of us who care the safety of our friends and family.

Don't bring a car – Simple. If you're going to be out with a couple of friends and you know that you'll be drinking, split the fare for a cab to get to and from home. The cost of a cab is nothing compared to the cost of a DUI.

Designated driver – Take turns with your friends on being a designated driver for the evening. There’s no better way to show your friendship than by making a tiny sacrifice to get them all home safely. Let the establishment where you are dining or drinking know who the designated driver is. Many establishments will provide free incentives for the designated driver such as free soft drinks and, sometimes, even a free appetizer. They want to encourage designated driving too.

Sober rover services – With a little research, it's easy to find out if your location has an available sober rover service. These can either be a chauffeur service that can be hired for the night, or a service that may be called to drop by and deliver the client and their vehicle home.

Mobile apps – Distracted driving apps and devices have another function other than checking if a driver is using a mobile phone while driving --- it can also be used to set hotspots, or areas not to drive to, like bars. A good idea is to set trusted friends or family members as administrators for the mobile app, so that they would be notified where a driver is, or shouldn't be.

Pay for parking, get driven home – Leaving a car overnight at a car park may cost a little extra but it's nowhere near as expensive as DUI. Call a sober friend or a cab to come pick you up.

Collect keys at the door – When hosting a party, collect your guest’s car keys at the door. Make sure all your guests know the policy when they come in your door. Later on, a guest who has been drinking may become a little angry when you refuse to return the keys but a little spat among friends is better than living with the burden of that friend’s death.

Ignition interlock device – If installed in a car, these devices will prevent the car from being started if alcohol is detected in the driver's system; guaranteeing that there will be no DUI. The research is underway and, if Congress has its way, we may see alcohol interlock devices installed on all new cars within ten years.

Learn more about how to prevent teens from underage drinking and driving.

Labels: drunk driving, DUI, prevent distracted driving