News

When making plans to ring in the new year, Atrium Health Navicent physicians urge the community to stay safe behind the wheel. Since 2000, more than 230,000 people have lost their lives in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

In 2020, an estimated 11,654 fatalities occurred in alcohol-impaired crashes. This number represented 30 percent of all traffic fatalities that year and a 14 percent increase over 2019. When people are impaired by alcohol, they may have poor judgment, impaired visual functions, declines in coordination and reduced reaction time. Even when people don’t appear drunk, small amounts of alcohol may impair driving skills, according to the NHTSA.

The National Safety Council reports that the three-hour period with the highest percentage of driver fatalities with blood- alcohol contents of 0.08 percent or higher is midnight to 3 a.m. — prime time for driving home from New Year’s Eve festivities.

“For many people, New Year’s is a time for celebration with family and friends, but it’s important to keep safety in mind. If your celebration includes alcohol, be sure to either have a designated driver or to stay at home. Also don’t light fireworks while intoxicated,” said Dr. John Wood, medical director for the Emergency Center at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center.

If New Year’s celebrations involve fireworks, it’s also important to take precautions to ensure those celebrations remain safe.

In 2021, fireworks were involved in an estimated 11,500 injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments, and resulted in 9 deaths, according to a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Young adults, aged 20 to 24, were the most likely to be treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries. The most common injuries included burns to the hands and fingers (31 percent), along with head, face and ears.

Fireworks — including sparklers and flares — can cause serious burns as well as blast injuries that can permanently impair vision and hearing.

Emergency and trauma physicians at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, a nationally verified Level I Trauma Center, encourage celebrants to protect themselves and their children from fireworks injuries by following these tips:

• Handle and use fireworks in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and all warning labels.
• Light fireworks on smooth, flat surfaces and aim them away from buildings, dry leaves, flammable materials

  and spectators.

• Do not try to relight fireworks that malfunction. Soak them in water and then throw them away.
• Do not modify fireworks or use homemade fireworks.
• Light fireworks one at a time, then quickly move back.
• Do not shoot fireworks from metal or glass containers.
• Keep a phone and a bucket of water or a fire extinguisher handy.
• Familiarize yourself with first aid for burns.
• Adults should actively supervise all children when they are near fireworks.
• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures

  of about 2,000 degrees — hot enough to melt some metals.

•

After fireworks complete their burning, to prevent a trash fire, douse the spent device with plenty of water from

Contact:

Amy Leigh Womack:

amy.mccord@atriumhealth.org

a bucket or hose before discarding the device.