As we are gearing up for Mardi Gras season, there are several things you should keep in mind if you’re planning on taking part in any of the fun.
Everyone is ready to Laissez les bon temps rouler when it is Carnival time but there are a lot of safety risks when large crowds and booze are involved.
According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, there were 599 crashes that resulted in injuries and fatalities during Mardi Gras in 2015. In 2017, a truck driver with a .232 blood-alcohol level drove into a Mardi Gras parade crowd injuring 28 people. A year later, in 2018, there were 465 fatal and injury crashes during Mardi Gras — alcohol was involved in 46 of the crashes. And last year an impaired driver leaving a Mardi Gras parade struck several pedestrians and bicyclists — killing 2 people.
Every year there is an influx of traffic-related accidents involving alcohol or distracted driving during the Carnival season.
We want to make sure everyone does their best to stay safe this year while enjoying the parades with their friends and families.
Here are 3 tips to help keep you and those around you safe this season:
- Buzzed? Don’t drive.
Buzzed driving is the same as drunk driving. There are plenty of other ways to get around the city during Mardi Gras like taxi, Uber, or Lyft. If you do opt-in to using Uber or Lyft to get from place to place, set your pick-up location away from the closed streets, make sure to confirm your driver before getting in the car, respect the driver’s car and ditch your drink, share your destination details with your friends, make sure you didn’t leave anything in the car, and make sure you check the price before your ride.
- Buckle Up.
Whether you are driving or a passenger in another vehicle, wear your seat belt. Seat belts have saved nearly 255,000 drivers and passengers since 1975. They reduce the risk of death and serious injury in the front seats by roughly 50%. If you are not wearing a seat belt, you are 30 times more likely to be ejected from an automobile.
- Stay Alert.
I know the last thing we want to do is think about the “what if’s” when we are second-lining and catching beads, but staying alert can save you from injury or worse. Make sure you are aware of your surroundings — nearby traffic, people in proximity, exits, law enforcers, Mardi Gras parade traffic — and devise a plan if something were to happen and you need to get to help or safety.
And as a general rule of thumb for Mardi Gras:
- Don’t park in front of driveways, fire hydrants, or anywhere you would not normally be allowed to park.
- Lock your vehicle.
- Keep your children close and make sure they stay behind barricades.
- Make sure you are allowed to park or set up tents on neutral grounds (medians).
- Glass containers are not allowed on parade routes.
- Secure children in ladders viewing the parade.
- There can be no ladders or other personal effects (grills, coolers, etc.) closer than 6 feet to the curb.
- Parking on St. Charles and Napoleon will be prohibited on both sides of the neutral ground this year starting 2 hours before the parade.
- Roping off territory on public sidewalks or neutral ground is banned.
- Private portable toilets on public property are banned.
