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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

How To Throw A Safe Party

Use These Safe Party Tips To Ensure A Healthy, Happy Time

Hosting a party is a lot of fun, but a top priority should be making sure that your guests are safe. New research reveals that drivers are sharing the roads with millions of motorists with three of more convictions against them.

To ensure the safety of your guests is top priority at your party, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has provided the following checklist:

During your party:
  • Never serve alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age of 21, and never ask someone under 21 to serve alcohol at your party.
  • Do not allow guests to mix their own drinks. Choose a reliable "bartender" to help keep track of the size and number of drinks that your guests imbibe.
  • If it seems that a guest is drinking too much, offer a non-alcoholic version of his or her drink.
  • Do not urge your friends to drink. It is not necessary to drink in order to have a good time at a party.
  • Stop serving drinks 90 minutes before the party ends and serve coffee with dessert. Remember, only time sobers someone who has been drinking.
  • If a guest had too much to drink, drive them home, arrange for a ride with a sober guest, call a taxi, or have them stay over.
What every host needs to know:
  • Coffee or caffeine will not sober up your guests. Only time can make someone sober.
  • Beer and wine are no less intoxicating than hard liquor. A 12-ounce can of beer, a five-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce wine cooler and an ounce and a half of liquor contain the same amount of alcohol.
  • A guest's physical appearance will not necessarily reveal if he or she has had too much to drink.
  • Alcohol is not diluted by mixers. In fact, carbonated mixers like club soda or tonic water cause alcohol to be absorbed into a person’s system more quickly. Fruit juice and other sweet mixers conceal the taste of alcohol and may cause people to drink more.
Here are a few tips you can use to approach a potentially drunk-driving guest:
  • To slow down the drinking, engage him/her in a conversation.
  • Have lots of food available during the party.
  • Offer to mix your guest's next drink and use less alcohol.
  • Insist that they take a break from drinking for awhile, or switch to beverages of the non-alcoholic variety. For example, sparkling cider makes a perfect substitute for a glass of champagne.
Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswers.com.

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