John Price Law Blog

5 Tips For Tailgating Safely

Although pumpkins, hot chocolate, and Halloween are all fun traditions, tailgating your team’s game might be the highlight of your fall festivities. You’ve put flags on your car, your whole family is wearing jerseys, and you’ve packed delicious food. What could possibly go wrong? Tailgating is considered a popular, safe activity, but there are several dangers you should be aware of. To make sure you and your family have a winning tailgate, follow these five simple safety tips.

Drive slowly

Parking lots are often crowded with fans who may be drinking or have small children. This is football, n0t Nascar, so there’s no need to act like you’re on a racetrack. Drive slowly and carefully while watching out for kids playing in the parking lot. Once the game ends, you may be tempted to floor it and beat the traffic, but the risk of hitting a parked car (or worse, a person!) is not worth it.

Be careful with grills

Never light a gas grill while the lid is closed, as it could explode. Be sure to supervise children or pets whenever there is a hot grill nearby, so they don’t touch or knock it over. To prevent hot coals from causing a fire, grill early on during the tailgate and completely extinguish any embers. If you’re inexperienced, it wouldn’t hurt to review the safety guide before firing up the grill.

Pay attention to food temperature

Once you’re safely operating your cooking equipment, pay special attention to the temperature of your food. Serving uncooked meat can give you and your family food poisoning. Keep meat stored in a cool container and consider using a thermometer to make sure the food has fully cooked.

Bring safety equipment

Leave a little extra room for a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. Even with careful precautions your grill could catch fire or someone else’s might. Tents can quickly go up into flames, which means that a fire extinguisher on hand can save the lives of your family and friends in a disaster. Check the expiration date on the extinguisher before packing it so you’ll have time to buy a replacement before the game. A first aid kit can quickly fix a minor injury and is always good to have on hand.

Have a designated driver

If you’re drinking before and during a game, it may be easy to have one beer too many and be unable to drive safely. In South Carolina, it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. Since most of us don’t bring a breathalyzer to a tailgate, you should establish a designated driver before anyone starts drinking. One in 12 football fans leave the game too drunk to drive. Set a designated driver and practice safe drinking habits, such as eating plenty of food, having non-alcoholic drinks available, and avoid buying beer after the first quarter of the game.

We believe that prevention is always the best medicine, which is why we hope your family takes every safety precaution during football season. If you or a loved one is injured in an auto accident, contact us at (843) 552-6011 for compassionate, experienced legal representation.

Additional Resources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/tailgaters-drunk-sporting-events/story?id=12646946