Each year, more than 10,000 people, about 1,000 of them children, lose their lives on America’s roadways due to drunk driving. That’s about 1/3 of all traffic-related deaths. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drinking and driving kills nearly 30 people every day in the US or about one person every 50 minutes.

Car accidents involving intoxicated drivers happen even more often during the holidays, when social binge-drinking is more accepted and prevalent. Increased drinking at holiday parties and gatherings leads to an uptick in impaired drivers on the road and a higher risk for alcohol-related accidents. So, even if you drive sober, there’s a greater chance you’ll be sharing the road with other drivers who are not.

During the winter holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, 40 percent of highway deaths are alcohol related. During the same period, there’s an estimated 25,000 injuries from alcohol-related accidents. Curiously, a quarter of the profits for the $49 billion alcohol industry are made during this same time span.

While the risk for encountering a drunk driver is higher throughout the holiday season, New Year’s Day is the most dangerous holiday to be on the road, with 58 percent of car accidents being alcohol related. During the month of December, 28 percent of fatal car accidents involve intoxicated drivers. An average of 300 people are killed in drunk-driving accidents during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Alcohol impairs by affecting key skills needed for driving. It slows your reflexes, which can decrease your ability to quickly react to changing situations. It can alter your visual perception and even cause blurry vision. It can impact your ability to judge your car’s position on the road. Alcohol can affect your concentration, coordination and decision-making capability as well.

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC), also called blood alcohol content or blood alcohol limit, is the percentage of alcohol in your blood after you’ve been drinking. In 49 of 50 states and Washington DC, you are considered legally drunk if you have a BAC of 0.08 percent or above. But in Utah, the BAC limit is 0.05 percent. Any detectable blood alcohol concentration is a violation in people under 21.

Many factors contribute to how fast you reach a BAC of 0.08 percent. Your weight, body fat percentage, hydration, digestion and the way alcohol affects you, as well as the length of time you’ve been drinking, all affect how quickly you become impaired.

But generally speaking, a 180-pound man can reach a BAC of 0.08 percent after four drinks and a 120-pound woman can reach it after just two drinks. A standard “drink” is defined as one shot of liquor, a five-ounce glass of wine or one 12-ounce beer.

Even if you don’t kill anyone, driving while intoxicated will impact your life in many ways and cost you big time. If you’re arrested for a DUI or DWI, you could face the suspension of your driver’s license, jail time – up to a year for a first offense in some states – and thousands of dollars in fines and court costs. When all is said and done, alcohol-impaired drivers cost the US about $132 billion each year.

The fact of the matter is 100 percent of alcohol-related fatalities and injuries are preventable. The bottom line: there are no excuses. If you drink, don’t drive!

Try these common-sense tips for a safe holiday season:

• If you plan to drink at a holiday gathering, line up a sober driver.
• If you don’t have a designated driver, call a cab, ride-sharing service or friend to take you home at the end of the event.
• Consider spending the night at a nearby hotel or motel that you can walk to if you have more than a few drinks.
• Eat food and drink water while you’re consuming alcoholic beverages. Don’t drink on an empty stomach.
• Even if you only feel a little buzzed, you’re impaired. Get a ride with a sober driver or call a cab.

If you’re hosting a holiday gathering, follow these recommendations:

• Serve a variety of food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as coffee.
• Avoid providing salty snacks. They make your guests drink more.
• Don’t make alcohol the main attraction at the party.
• Stop serving alcohol one to two hours before the event ends.
• Keep an eye on your guests. If someone is visibly intoxicated, don’t serve them any more alcohol.
• Don’t let drinking guests drive. Take their keys and be sure a sober driver, cab or ride-sharing service takes them home.

The most recent available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that in 2016, there were 7,277,000 auto accidents in the U.S. That breaks down to an average of 19,937 accidents each day, which does not include the countless accidents that went unreported. Being involved in an auto accident can be a traumatizing event with many opportunities for disaster. You could be facing property damage, serious injuries, wage losses, hospital fees, emotional damages, and more. The most important asset to take care of after an accident is yourself.

Since injuries are not always immediately apparent and may not be until after your injuries have worsened, it’s imperative to get yourself checked out immediately after you’ve been in an accident. You only have 14 days from the date of the accident to seek medical attention in order to be covered under your auto insurance’s personal injury protection policy. Even if you feel fine, schedule an appointment with your local auto accident doctor to make sure you don’t have any underlying injuries that will need medical attention. Here are some common bodily injuries that we frequently see as the result of an accident.

Soft Tissue Injury

Soft tissue injuries are those that involve injuries to tendons, muscles, and ligaments. They most commonly seen in those who play sports, but can also be the result of a high impact car wreck. They can include:

• Bursitis – The painful condition that includes swelling, or irritation of the bursae (the small, fluid-filled sac located by the joints) that usually occurs in the shoulder, knee, elbow, or hip.
• Contusions – Areas of the skin or underlying tissue where blood capillaries have ruptured. Also called a bruise, these injuries can happen when your body is hit with blunt force by another object, or vice versa.
• Sprains – The damage or tearing of a ligament or ligaments surrounding a joint. Sprains usually occur when a joint has been taken beyond its normal range of movement.
• Strains – Injuries to the muscle or tendon caused by overuse, stretching, or force.
• Tendonitis – Irritation or inflammation of the tendon. In an auto accident injury, this might be caused by sudden or direct force applied to the area of concern.

Whiplash

Whiplash is a neck injury that can occur when the neck is forced to move forward and backward in a quick motion, like the cracking of a whip. It usually occurs during rear-end collisions, but can be a result of other types of collisions as well. Symptoms of whiplash include pain and swelling of the neck and shoulders. In some instances, physical therapy or neck injections may be required for persistent pain, so it’s important to get yourself checked out right away.

Spinal Cord Injury

The Mayo Clinic reported that car accidents account for nearly 50% of all reported spinal cord injuries. A spinal cord injury results from damage to the spinal cord or to the ligaments, discs, or vertebrae of the spinal column. A car accident can cause a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that can crush, compress, dislocate, or fracture the vertebrae. Additional injury can occur in the days or weeks following the accident due to inflammation, swelling, fluid accumulation, and bleeding around the spinal cord. Spinal cord injuries can include:

• Claudication – A common symptom of lumbar spinal stenosis, causing inflammation of the nerves emerging from the spinal cord.
• Bulging, Degenerating, or Herniated Discs – A condition where the soft center of a spinal disk pushes through a crack in the tougher exterior casing. It can irritate nearby nerves and result in pain, numbness, or weakness in an arm or leg.
• Sciatica – Pain radiating along the sciatic nerve, which runs down one or both legs from the lower back. It’s primarily caused when a herniated disk or bone spur in the spine presses on the nerve. It usually only affects one side of the body.

Seat Belt Syndrome

Wearing your seat belt is one of the most important decisions you can make when getting into a vehicle. It can save your life and prevent further debilitating injuries in the event of an accident. However, that doesn’t mean wearing one will leave you without injury. Medical professionals have coined the term “seat belt syndrome” to include a handful of common injuries that occur in accidents from the seat belt itself. The abdomen, chest, neck, and spine are the areas of the body that are primarily affected by seat belt syndrome.

• Abdomen – The stomach, small and large intestines, liver, spleen, and pancreas often experience bruising or tearing.
• Chest – Bruising, lacerations, and rashes from the belt can be clearly visible and painful. The belt can also cause rib and sternum fractures, damage to the lungs and trachea, connective tissue and cartilage tearing, damage to the chest wall, and heart contusions.
• Spine & Neck – Spinal injuries are the most common since the spine is the shock absorber for the body. Injuries can include fractures, paralysis, damage to facet joints, and damaged discs.

Many injuries can also occur because seat belts are not being worn or faceted correctly. The concept of the belt is to keep the body aligned and sitting up straight so any potential blow or force would be distributed evenly across the body. Always wear your seat belt, and wear it correctly.

Airbag Injury

Similar to the primary function of a seat belt, the deployment of an airbag is to ensure the damage during a collision is lessened and your body does not receive the full force of the blow. However, you can still experience additional injuries because of an airbag. Depending on the speed you and the other driver were going at the time of the crash, as well as the trajectory of each vehicle in relation to one another, you may experience:

• Whiplash from the force of the bag against your head and neck
• Damage to your eyes if they remained open while the airbag deployed
• Broken or fractured nose
• Irritation to eyes and skin from chemicals and dust on the airbag
• Other injuries due to the airbag’s deployment

Every injury is different. The best way to handle any injuries you’ve sustained is to begin the healing process with the best treatments for each injury. If you’ve been in a car accident, it’s imperative that you seek medical treatment immediately to ensure your body is functioning properly and no injuries go undetected for any period of time.

–Preferred Injury Physicians

Travis Utter, DC, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic. He received additional training in NCV/EMG from the Neurodiagnostics Institute and in whiplash and accident reconstruction from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. Dr. Utter is certified in whiplash and accident reconstruction.

The traditional dawn of summer here in Florida brings with it the dawn of storm season, a months-long period in which heavy afternoon thunderstorms are the norm and conditions are ripe for the development of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Gusty winds, lightning strikes and flash floods are among the most common byproducts of these intense summer storms. But so too are rip currents. That’s why the American Red Cross always chooses the first week of June as Rip Current Awareness Week.

The National Weather Service defines rip currents as “strong narrow currents that move away from shore.” They can occur at any beach where there are breaking waves, and they are often swift enough to drag away even the strongest of swimmers.

Studies show that rip currents have at times attained speeds of eight feet per second. That’s faster than Olympic swimmers can swim and in terms of danger, they are a greater menace to swimmers than tornadoes are to non-swimmers.

Since 2013, when the National Weather Service first began keeping data on them, rip currents have been responsible for an average of 65 deaths per year, which is more than the number of deaths reportedly caused by tornadoes and lightning strikes over that period.

In addition, the United States Lifesaving Association says that rip currents are the reason for 80 percent of all beach rescues in the United States, where the NWS says Florida ranks first in rip-current related deaths the past four years.

Rip currents are known to have a quick-sand-like effect on their victims as disaster often strikes as a result of a swimmer attempting to swim back towards the shore, against the stronger pull of the outward-bound current.

That’s a natural instinct, but swimming into the current will quickly tire out even the best of swimmers, which can result in drowning. It’s recommended then that swimmers caught in a rip current instead swim parallel to the shore line until they reach the end of the current.

For more tips on how to survive being caught in a rip current, check out this safety video courtesy of the American Red Cross. And keep in mind that a wicked storm doesn’t have to be immediately present to create a rip current.

Storms that are well offshore can produce rip currents as well, which is why it’s wise to always keep track of local weather conditions, including checking the NWS’s rip current forecast, before heading out to the beach.