Police Offer Tips on How to Have a Safe New Year

New Year's Eve – the night when legions of people fill bars, saloons, night clubs and house parties as they count down to a new year.

Mentor Crime Prevention Officer Marilyn Satterfield calls it Amateur Night.

Mentor police already arrested five people on suspicion of driving while drunk Wednesday night.

Satterfield and other officers realize that people will drink tonight; and, when they do, she wants them to be safe.

With that in mind, they offer these tips:

1. Plan Ahead

"When people are drinking, they don't make good decision," Capt. John Jaros said. "So make your plans before you go out, while you're still sober. And have a contingency plan if your first plan falls through."

2. Have a Designated Driver

"If you're going to be jumping from party to part, have someone who isn't drinking," Satterfield said.

Capt. Kevin Knight added, "(Driving drunk) can be expensive – not just the court costs and fine. You could go to jail. If you hit someone, there's a civil suit. You could end up losing your house over it."

3. Spend the Night

If you are at a friend's house and too drunk to drive, spend the night, Satterfield said.

Obviously, one cannot spend the night in a bar or night club; but, as Satterfield noted, "Bars will have numbers for taxi services, and there are plenty of hotels and motels in the city."

Jaros recommended calling the Mentor Police Department at 440-255-1234 if you intend to leave your car parked on the street overnight.

"People get a parking ticket and invariably call us the next day, saying, 'But I did the right.' You did. Just call us and give us your license plate number, so you can get permission to park on the street overnight," Jaros said.

4. Be Responsible

Ultimately, the police cannot make decisions for you. They depend on the populace to be responsible.

"You have to be responsible for yourself," Satterfield said. "If you're with a group and one of your friends has had too much to drink, be responsible for them."

This responsibility also extends to bar owners.

"If (bartenders) see someone who's obviously drunk, they have a legal obligation to cut them off," Knight said.

Friends can also face a criminal charge of wrongful entrustment if a drunk person drive their car.

Satterfield said that, in recent years, Dec. 23 and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving have eclipsed as New Year's Eve as big party days. She guessed that it was partly because people grew tired of dealing with potentially dangerous drivers.

"We want people to have fun, but we want them to stay safe even more," she said.