7 New Year’s Eve Safety Tips

Seven safety tips for New Years' Eve Celebrations, green background with white letterings, green, tan and white stars

New Year’s Eve comes with a lot of expectations and pressure to have a wonderful and memorable night. This can involve drinking, big parties, going out and fireworks. Make sure you keep the following tips in mind while making plans for your celebrations.

  • Don’t drink and drive! It has been said many times, but you can never say it enough. If you plan on going out for New Year’s Eve, designate a sober driver, take a cab, plan to sleep over at the host’s home, or arrange for a sober driver to pick you up. Don’t ever drive while under the influence.
  • Plan for guests’ safety. If hosting a party, plan a way to have guests get home safely or have a place for them to sleep over if they don’t have a sober driver.
  • Consider pet safety. Animals get frightened around loud noises. Make sure you give proper attention to your pets, so they don’t run away in a panic, cause car accidents, bite people, or get lost. Keeping your pets inside can help avoid these issues. Make sure any pet that has a chance to get outside is properly tagged.
  • Make a plan with your kids. If your kids are old enough to drive, make sure they understand the rise in accidents during the holidays and encourage them to stay in one place rather than party hop.
  • Don’t leave your car overnight. New Year’s Day is the second most active holiday for car theft. If you must leave your car, make sure it is locked and try to pick it up as early as you can the next day.
  • Be mindful at public events. Don’t go any place by yourself, make sure you have a cell phone on you, be aware of your surroundings, and don’t set your drink down anywhere unattended.
  • Don’t use fireworks or flare guns without understanding local laws and safety rules. See the following regulations on fireworks for New York State:
    • Permitted: Ground-based or hand-held sparkling devices including cylindrical fountains, cone fountains, and wood sparklers/dipped sticks, party poppers, and snappers.
    • Prohibited: Aerial consumer fireworks, firecrackers and chasers, skyrockets, roman candles, bombs, and metal wire sparklers.

Enjoy your celebrations and be as safe as possible. When things go wrong it can ruin an evening … or worse! Stay safe, stay smart, and make this New Year’s Eve unforgettable for the right reasons!