Make Sure Your Guests Drive Safe and Sober this Holiday Season

(ARA) - Spending time with family and friends is one of the nicest things about the holiday season. But from office parties to toasting the New Year, there are also many opportunities for people to drink too much, making holidays some of the most dangerous times of the year on the road. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2003, alcohol-related traffic crashes killed more than 4,000 people from Thanksgiving to New Year's and 219 deaths occurred over the New Year's holiday.

In order to help prevent these tragedies, Maid Brigade, an international residential cleaning service supports Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)'s mission to stop drunk driving, support victims of this violent crime and to prevent underage drinking.

"We feel it is very important for us to give back to the communities we serve," says Bart Puett, president of Maid Brigade. "We are working with MADD because the dangers of drunk driving impact each and every one of us, every day - as individuals and collectively, as a community." It is estimated that three out of 10 people will be impacted by drunk driving in their lifetimes.

If you're hosting a party this holiday season, here are some tips to make sure your guests drive safe and sober:

* Encourage people to carpool to the party and to specify who will be the designated driver.

* Make sure to have some fun, non-alcoholic drink options for those designated drivers. A festive punch or spiced apple cider is a nice change from soda or water.

* Make good conversation, food and friends the focus of the gathering, not alcohol.

* Be a good host or hostess, but don't keep topping off guests' drinks. And don't hesitate to suggest to a guest that they might want to switch to coffee or water if they seem to be over-imbibing.

* Have a contingency plan in case some of your guests drink too much to drive. Find them a ride with other guests, call them a cab, or have the guest room ready.

To help raise public awareness about the dangers and consequences of drunk driving, participating Maid Brigade locations made donations and distributed MADD Red Ribbons to their clients. The ribbons are designed to be tied to a vehicle antennae (or other visible location on the vehicle) as a pledge to drive safe and sober. "We're working with MADD to clean up the streets for the safety of our community," says Puett.

For the holidays, and every day, Maid Brigade promises you sparkling housecleanings, shining reliability and the best customer service and communications in the business. To locate the Maid Brigade nearest you, call (866) 843-1841 or log on to www.maidbrigade.com. For more information on MADD, visit www.madd.org.

Courtesy of ARA Content