Hope Canyon Recovery in San Diego CA to Observe National Impaired Driving Prevention Month

The holidays are a time of celebration—and also a time to stay alert, especially for those who are spending a lot of time on the road. Holiday festivities often include alcohol and other impairing substances such as drugs. This is why rates of drugged driving and drunk driving increase during the month of December. This also makes the holidays one of the most dangerous seasons on the roads.

For this reason, December has been declared the National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. It is a campaign that seeks to highlight the consequences of impaired driving. It hopes to reduce the number of accidents wherein drugs and/or alcohol are involved. Hope Canyon Recovery in San Diego, California will use this campaign as a way to spread awareness in the community.

The number of accidents caused by impaired driving is quite significant. The National Traffic Safety Administration’s 2013-2014 Roadside Survey shows that 20 percent of night-time weekend drivers tested positive for drugs

Additionally, the proportion of marijuana-positive drivers involved in fatal crashes increased from 8 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in 2014, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. However, there is no definitive reason for why the number of marijuana-positive drivers increased during this time.

The NHTSA further reported that an average of 300 people died annually since 2013 in drunk-driving crashes during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. In fact, a total of 781 people lost their lives in drunk-driving related crashes in December 2016 alone.

Hope Canyon Recovery aims to reduce accidents of this type significantly. While the San Diego treatment facility offers inpatient addiction treatment for drugs in San Diego, the company is also aware of the value of prevention. They aim to use their voice and platforms in the community and online to bring increased awareness to the month of observance.

For those who are struggling with addiction, Hope Canyon’s substance abuse treatment programs are specifically designed to ensure comfort and safety. Dealing with substance abuse is no easy task, especially during the holidays because the season can bring uncomfortable thoughts and feelings of loneliness in some people.

Proper information regarding noticing if someone is driving impaired, can go a long way in the fight against substance abuse on the road.

Most states have different ways of confronting this issue, but generally speaking, law enforcement officials and lawmakers are uniting under the message that laws need to be tough when it comes to impaired driving.

The main obstacle is the fact that laws that address these problems are hard to enforce. For starters, it can be difficult to determine impairment in the first place. Because of this, drivers have to shoulder that responsibility: to stay off the road if they are impaired—whether they are drunk or under the influence of drugs. Friends and family also have a social responsibility to take note of behavior and stop the person from getting behind the wheel if they see any behavior that triggers an alarm.

California is one of the ten states that allow medical and recreational use of marijuana. It is these simple laws that drivers should be aware of. Drivers can benefit from understanding state laws and penalties pertaining to impaired driving. This is so they can stay safe and also not put other people in danger. Hope Canyon strives to be the best addiction treatment provider in Southern California. They believe that thought leadership and actual leadership go hand in hand.

In December, Hope Canyon Recovery will use the National Impaired Driving Prevention campaign to educate, inform, and inspire people to stay safe during and after the holidays.