(TNS) — The trauma staff at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is used to the consequences of horrific car crashes, many involving alcohol.
But one day in early December had them talking: Four people were brought in with injuries from four different alcohol-related car crashes. All happened within five hours on a weekday, during the late morning and early afternoon.
“So on a random day, in the middle of the day on a weekday in December, people are driving impaired,” says Amy Bollinger, a trauma nurse at the medical center.
Bollinger, who is also the trauma education and prevention coordinator, was already aware of national statistics showing December is a peak month for fatal alcohol-related crashes. That includes the deaths of 1,013 people in alcohol-related crashes in 2021, the most recent numbers available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The National Safety Council estimates 345 people will die on or around Christmas Day in 2023 as a result of traffic accidents, some of which will involve alcohol.
Still, that bleak day in early December combined with other crash victims brought to the medical center’s level one trauma center this month caused her to conclude “we’re seeing an uptick in alcohol-related motor vehicle collisions.”
“We are seeing, almost daily, people who are coming to us as trauma patients having been in motor vehicle collisions and they all had alcohol on board,” she says.
As result, Bollinger this week made a public plea for safety during the 2023 holiday season and offered advice to people who enjoy alcohol:
Plan ahead. If you intend to drink, plan how you will get home safely without driving, such as by calling a cab or ride-share service or having a sober friend drive;
If you host a gathering and serve alcohol, pay attention to those who are drinking, and talk to intoxicated guests about how they plan to get home. Provide or arrange a ride for them or take their keys if necessary, and don’t shy away from “a difficult conversation.”
Talk to college students about how they plan to get home after drinking. It’s something many college students might not think about because, when at school, they walk to and from parties and bars. That’s probably not the case when they are home on holiday break. “I think it’s safe to say we probably shouldn’t assume our college-age kids have thought this through,” she says.
Excessive drinking at home is another source of holiday injuries, especially among people 55 or older who have reached the point they can no longer navigate steps, baths and showers, and other household obstacles so easily, according to Bollinger.
Bollinger stresses that car crashes caused by alcohol are “100% preventable.” Moreover, they often cost the lives of innocent passengers or other motorists. She’s seen it time again during 30 years as a nurse, including many years in the Level I trauma center at Penn State-Hershey.
“I’ve seen a lot of lives completely altered, lives shattered, untimely deaths because of split-second decisions that have life-ending or life-limiting consequences,” she says.
People who want help for alcohol or drug addiction, or for a loved one, can obtain help from the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs or by calling (800) 662-4357.
