COLUMBUS – Sunday is one of the most hazardous driving days of the year, thanks to Super Bowl fans who drive while impaired, before and after the big game.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports there were two fatalities and 156 injuries from traffic crashes during the 2016 Super Bowl period, from 6:00 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7, until 6:00 a.m. Feb. 8.
Both deaths and 23 injuries were alcohol-related. Troopers also made 50 drunk-driving arrests during the 24-hour period, according to a joint release from the Ohio Insurance Institute and the Highway Patrol.
The institute and the Patrol are reminding party hosts that they may have both a moral and legal responsibility to make sure that their guests are capable of getting behind the wheel when they leave.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, 39 states have enacted laws or have court rulings on the books that permit social hosts who serve liquor to guests who subsequently are involved in crashes to be held liable for any injury or death, though Ohio’s law pertains to underage guests:
A social host is not liable for the actions of an intoxicated adult guest. (Settlemyer v. Wilmington Veterans Post No. 49. American Legion, Inc., 464 N.E.2d 521 (Ohio 1984).
However, a social host may be held liable for either the death or injury of a third person caused by an intoxicated minor guest. Mitseff v. Wheeler, 526 N.E.2d 798 (Ohio 1988), Huston v. Konieczny, 556 N.E.2d 505 (Ohio 1990), and Williams v. Veterans of Foreign Wars. 650 N.E.2d 175 (Ohio App. 2 Dist. 1994)
–Source: Natl. Highway Traffic Safety Admin.
The Ohio Highway Patrol reports 12,526 alcohol-related crashes occurred in 2015, with 346 fatalities and 7,130 injuries, all higher numbers than for 2014. Statistics for 2016 have not yet been released.