Police beg people not to drink and drive New Year’s Eve

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Alcohol and New Year’s Eve go hand and hand, but not so much drinking and driving. The Baton Rouge Police Department has one final message for people before they celebrate the beginning of 2019.

Police are begging people not to drink and drive. There will be extra patrols for the night, especially downtown for the Red Stick Revelry celebration. BRPD is urging people to plan ahead of time for how they’ll get back home, whether it be a designated driver or ride sharing. Both Uber and Lyft are offering discounted rides tonight. With all those options, police say there’s no excuse for getting behind the wheel.

“Even if it’s one drink and you think you’re OK, buzzed driving is drunk driving, so don’t take the chance. We do not want to go to a family member’s home and have to notify them of a serious incident or someone involved in a fatal crash because of something involving drinking and driving," said Sgt. Don Coppola with BRPD.

BRPD is also reminding people that fireworks are illegal in East Baton Rouge Parish and warning people to not fire off guns into the air.

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