Enforcement Efforts Focuses on Impaired Driving Prevention

To ensure safety for everyone in Massachusetts during the holidays, the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) has been conducting alcohol enforcement at local bars in the major cities and towns since Thanksgiving Eve and will continue through New Year’s Eve.

In doing so, the ABCC hopes to prevent accidents caused by impaired driving and other alcohol-related harm that often occurs at this time of year. The ABCC will focus enforcement efforts at bars that have been identified as the last to sell alcohol to a convicted drunk driver, as well as working with municipal police departments that have identified high-risk locations in their communities.

“It is extremely important to deter bar owners from over serving and prevent problems before they happen,” said State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, who oversees the ABCC. “We simply want to keep people safe and make sure everyone can enjoy the holidays with their family and friends, avoiding tragedies before they occur.”

The program is run in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Impaired Driving Crackdown, from Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Eve, and is funded through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security – Highway Safety Division.

Alcohol is involved in 40 percent of traffic crash fatalities resulting in 17,013 fatalities and injuring an estimated 275,000 people annually. Data indicates that well over 50% of impaired driving arrests originate at bars.

The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission is an agency under the Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General Deborah B. Goldberg. Its overall objective is to provide uniform control over the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, and possession of alcoholic beverages in the state.