Drive Into 2025 Sober And Safe: NH OHS

CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety (NH OHS) is encouraging all residents and visitors to celebrate safely this New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“Make sure your first decisions in 2025 get you home safely,” New Hampshire Department of Safety Assistant Commissioner Eddie Edwards said. “Don’t wait for the New Year’s Eve ball drop to figure out a sober ride. If alcohol or drugs are part of the plan, designating a sober driver should be, too. Rideshare apps or taxi services are also options — there is no valid excuse for getting behind the wheel impaired.”

Since 2018, two people have been killed on New Year’s Eve and there have been more than 900 crashes during the New Year’s holiday (Dec. 31 - Jan. 1), according to data from the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles:

Persons Killed in Fatal Crashes (New Year’s Eve - New Year’s Day)

• 2018: 1
• 2022: 1

Total: 2

Number of Non-Fatal Crashes (New Year’s Eve - New Year’s Day)

• 2018-2019: 203
• 2019-2020: 227
• 2020-2021: 157
• 2021-2022: 115
• 2022-2023: 103
• 2023-2024: 113

Total: 918

Anyone who sees a potential drunk driver on New Hampshire roadways should make a report to 911 immediately. Law enforcement officers from state, county and local agencies throughout the state will continue to assign patrols to find and cite or arrest drivers who excessively speed or operate recklessly, distracted, or impaired. The effort is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through grants.

Submitted by the New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety.