December 11, 2025, Durham, NC – At the end of the year, drivers are at a higher risk for unsafe driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports an uptick in the number of deaths from traffic accidents involving alcohol impairment and occurring in the evening hours during the month of December.1 Holiday parties and get-togethers at this time of year may be related to increased driving while impaired. In addition, fewer daylight hours may mean more drivers are on the road after dark.

To protect themselves and others, drivers must have skills to avoid unsafe driving and understand the dangers of impaired driving. NHTSA offers some tips called Ways to Get Home Safely after drinking or using drugs on their website. One group at particularly high risk of unsafe driving are young people who have not had opportunities to create safe driving habits yet. This provides an important opportunity for schools and organizations to offer safe driving skill-building opportunities for young drivers.

Plan My Ride is an interactive, web-based program that gives students information about how to avoid driving distracted or impaired, wear their seatbelt, plan ahead for safe driving, avoid speeding, and more. Plan My Ride does not use fear-based tactics to motivate young people to drive safely but instead provides science-backed strategies for safe driving and 360-degree virtual reality scenarios to practice the skills they have learned in a low-risk, simulated learning experience.

By taking the Plan My Ride program, young drivers learn how to plan so they can avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. They also practice getting an alternate ride when they are impaired, declining alcohol or other drugs when they know they will drive later, and identifying signs of impairment to avoid riding with an impaired driver.  These skills are helpful when young drivers are attending celebrations during the holidays. In addition, the information that Plan My Ride provides on how to plan to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, avoid speeding, wear a seatbelt, and avoid distractions when driving can help young drivers remain safe when it is dark out or winter weather is affecting the roads.

Visit https://irtinc.us/category/product-post/plan-my-ride/ to read our blog series that provides information on each of the main lessons, virtual reality scenarios, and booster lessons included in the program.

To view pricing information or purchase the Plan My Ride program, visit planmyride.net.

 

  1. Traffic Safety Marketing. “Winter Holidays – Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.” gov. https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/safety-topics/drunk-driving/buzzed-driving-drunk-driving/winter-holidays