SMPD Reminds You to Celebrate New Year’s Eve Responsibly
SMPD Reminds You to Celebrate New Year’s Eve Responsibly
San Mateo, CA - With New Year's Eve quickly approaching, we'd like to remind you to celebrate responsibly. While celebrations may look a little different this year, we know you will still entertain yourselves and sometimes that involves drinking and, unfortunately, drugging. If you plan on putting anything into your body that will impair your ability to drive a vehicle, plan on how you'll arrive alive to all your destinations.
Always designate a sober driver and never be a passenger in a vehicle where the driver is impaired. There are so many options available to you these days, so preemptively download a rideshare app, check the bus/train schedule, have the number to your favorite taxi company programmed in your phone, or suck it up and call mom & dad for a ride!
If you're hosting a get together or party, collect car keys and don't let your friends or family drive impaired.
Impaired driving doesn't just mean alcohol. Drugs affect your ability to drive just as much. Every day, about 28 people in the U.S. die in drunk driving crashes. And 56% of drivers in serious or fatal crashes tested positive for at least one drug last year.
Aside from our concern about impaired driving on New Year’s Eve, unfortunately another issue we contend with is the use of “Celebratory Gunfire”. With jubilation, some people will shoot firearms into the air, but don’t realize the danger their actions pose. Remember, what goes up, must come down.
Bullets shot into the air don’t dissipate into the atmosphere; they must land somewhere. And when they do, they can injure or kill. A bullet fired into the air can remain in flight for over a minute. As it falls, the bullet reaches a velocity of 300-700ft per second. A velocity of only 200ft per second can penetrate the human skull. Firing a gun into the air is a crime and is punishable up to three years in jail. If you fire a gun into the air and it kills someone, you will be arrested and charged with manslaughter.
Fireworks also pose a danger on New Year’s Eve. Over the new year’s holiday an average of 200 people are injured and visit emergency rooms in the U.S. As a reminder, ALL fireworks, including those deemed Safe & Sane, are illegal in the city of San Mateo.
Celebrate the holiday safely and responsibly. Respect yourself and others and let’s set the tone for an amazing New Year ahead! If you observe anyone firing a gun into the air, call the police.
Address/Location
San Mateo, CA Police Department
200 Franklin Pkwy
San Mateo, CA 94403
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 650-522-7700
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