TIPS TO PUT THE BRAKES ON PEOPLE DRIVING DRUNK

f you've ever been around a friend or family member who has had too much to drink and wants to drive home, you know it can be an awkward situation. Those people often minimize the effects of alcohol. You know the ol' 'I'm fine!'

According to advocates for safe driving at Mothers Against Drunk Driving, this is not the time to be politically correct. Your objective should be to help keep the driver safe by handing over the keys.

Take a look at these recommendations from MADD:

• Be as non-confrontational as possible.
• Suggest alternate ways of getting to their destination — a cab, a sober driver, public transportation.
• Remember that the person you are talking to is impaired — talk a bit more slowly and explain things more fully than if you were speaking to a sober person.
• Explain that you don't want them to drive because you care and you don't want them to hurt themselves or others.
• Suggest that they sleep over.
• Enlist a friend to help you or to act as moral support — it's more difficult to say "no" to two (or three or four) people than one.
• If possible, get the person's keys. It is far easier to persuade the potential driver when you hold this leverage.
• If all else fails, call law enforcement. It's better to have a friend arrested than injured or killed.