Parades, beads, king cakes and parties are part of the Louisiana Mardi Gras season landscape, and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission wants to add a new tradition to the time-honored revelry - safe and sober driving.

 

The LHSC is reminding revelers this year to "Protect Your Beads" by not drinking and driving. LHSC and its safety partners in the law enforcement, health care and engineering communities are pushing the safe and sober driving message to prevent vehicle crashes.

 

"Carnival is part of our culture; you simply cannot separate Louisiana and Mardi Gras," said Dr. Katara Williams, executive director of the LHSC. "But in eight of the last 10 years, it's been the most dangerous holiday on Louisiana roads, and we want to change that."

 

Williams said the five-day holiday period from Friday through Fat Tuesday usually records more vehicle crashes with injuries or deaths than any other holiday in Louisiana. In 2015, the last year for which verified statistics are available, there were 600 crashes in Louisiana that injured 1,004 people and killed 11 people during the season. Of those 1,004 crashes, 90 involved alcohol, Williams said.

 

From 2011 through 2015, there were 2,856 vehicle crashes that caused injuries or fatalities during the five-day Carnival holiday period, according to statistics from the Highway Safety Research Group at LSU. In those crashes, 45 people were killed and 4,934 were injured. The statistics also show that 12.6% of the injuries were in alcohol-related crashes; 42.2% of the fatalities were alcohol-related.

"If you're going to drink, please have a designated driver or use a taxi or ride-share service," Williams said. " We want everyone to drive sober, wear their seat belts, avoid distractions and stay within the speed limit so they can enjoy Mardi Gras 2018."