Holiday Season Could Mean an Increase of Drunk Drivers

By: Kristin Bauer - Email

Updated: Wed 10:53 PM, Nov 21, 2012

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and possibly share laughter over a few drinks.

"With Thanksgiving Thursday, everybody is going to be at home slaving away in the kitchen," said Brooke Thernes, an employee of Brewsky's in Lincoln's Haymarket," so it would be nice for them to come in and actually have a meal that we could cook for them and also have a few drinks."

Like other local bars, Brewsky's is prepared for a rush this weekend.

"We usually do staff a little extra just in case. With holidays, it's a hit or miss. We could either be really packed or we could be dead."

This increase in business could put more drunk drivers out on the roads.

"There are a lot of people that do have too much to drink," she said, "but we offer cab services here. There are many people that take advantage of that, which is good because we don't want any of our customers driving home after too much to drink."

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office knows that the holiday season may bring out more drunk drivers. They held "Click-it or Ticket" Wednesday afternoon to help remind drivers to buckle up.

"Usually with any holiday season, people have time off from work," said Sgt. Derek Horalek. "There are more family gatherings, which does increase alcohol consumption, which can increase drunk driving on the roads."

They will be out on the look for anything suspicious.

"As deputies are patrolling the roads, they look for abnormal behavior. You might come up on a car that's driving erratically. There are various signs of impaired driving, and we just look for anything that's abnormal."

Whether you're going out to drink or drinking with family this weekend, make sure to always account for a designated driver.

Robber Hits Two Storage Lockers