Holiday Program to Coincide with National Impaired Driving Crackdown

BOSTON — This holiday season the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) will focus enforcement efforts at bars throughout the Commonwealth that have been most identified as the last bar to sell alcohol to a convicted drunk driver, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced today.

“This effort supports safer roads throughout Massachusetts during the holiday season,” said Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. “This kind of enforcement prevents the sale of alcohol to intoxicated people who could put the public at risk. It also establishes a long-term deterrence for bar owners from over-serving.”

Run in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Impaired Driving Crackdown, the ABCC’s Sale to Intoxicated Persons (SIP) enforcement will be in effect Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Eve.

The ABCC will also be working with local police departments that have identified high risk locations in their communities.

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.

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