Super Bowl Parties: Ohio Police Find Clever Way to Crack Down on Drunk Driving

The cops are always coming up with new strategies to stop drunk driving. They set up checkpoints, increase patrols and educate kids, but there's only so much they can do about stopping drunk driving at its source. Whenever people get together to drink, they tend not to invite the authorities to keep an eye on everyone.

This is something that concerns the police every day of the week. It will be doubly concerning on Super Sunday. After all, what's Super Sunday without a few adult beverages?

Police in Ohio have found a clever way to meet the problem head-on. According to a report from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, police in Mentor and Solon have pooled their resources to offer Super Bowl party kits designed to help party hosts prevent their guests from driving drunk on Super Sunday (Feb. 5).

In the kit is a football-shaped bowl to keep keys in, drink coasters, recipes for non-alcoholic drinks, a gift card and a taxi voucher.

To prove its existence, here's a picture:

All it's missing, really, is a bartender who knows when to cut people off. 

It's easy to joke about this stuff, especially if you don't have access to one of these kits, and that goes for pretty much everyone.

However, this is something that should be taken seriously. Hosts can be held responsible if one of their guests drives drunk and gets in an accident. That's a bad time for everyone involved.

Luckily, everyone can follow these tips, which come straight from the police:

"

• Don't force alcoholic drinks on guests or rush to refill their glasses. Have nonalcoholic drinks available.
• Serve high-protein foods, like cheese and meats, which stay in the stomach longer and slow down the absorption of alcohol.
• Avoid mixing alcohol with carbonated beverages, which increase alcohol absorption.
• Stop serving alcohol two hours before ending the party, but continue serving nonalcoholic drinks and food.
• Don't let drinkers drive. Form car pools. Call cabs.

"

All of this should be easy enough for all those who will be hosting Super Bowl parties this Sunday. You can't have a Super Bowl party without booze, and you can't have a Super Bowl party without cheeses and meats (well, unless it's a vegan Super Bowl party).

If you feel like devising your own Super Bowl party kits, that shouldn't be too hard either.

The point is that you should do whatever you have to. Super Sunday is practically an American holiday, and it shares the same dark side as every other American holiday. It's a day people like to honor by having a few drinks, and not everyone exercises caution.

We'll never get to a point where everyone is exercising caution on Super Sunday, but it doesn't hurt to get the message out there. Be safe, people.