We hope your Labor Day weekend is full of fun football parties, road trips, and some good ole brisket smokin' in the back yard.  And we hope it doesn't include a trip to jail.

Doing this one stupid thing can land us behind bars this Labor Day weekend, and there's something simple we can do to prevent it.

Drinking and driving is dumb.  And the thing is, no one ever thinks they'll do it!  We don't start the weekend with the bold determination to get tipsy and then get behind the wheel and ruin our lives and perhaps someone else's.  That would be silly.

What usually happens instead, is we go out to have a great time and we have a little too much to drink, and then the ability to make good choices flies right out the window.  So we've got to plan ahead just in case.

The Texas Department of Transportation has the "Plan While You Can" campaign going on now, which encourages us to use cabs, ride shares, and social media to set up safe rides home.  Go to Soberrides.org and enter your name and address, and you can arrange for someone sober to pick you up. It's that easy.

This will come in handy for the Labor Day weekend, but officers want us to use it throughout the fall too because tailgating happens.  TxDOT says they want to reduce the number of DWI-related traffic crashes on football game days when a Texas college or professional team is playing, so make sure your game plan includes a safe ride home.

"Drink. Drive. Go To Jail."  TxDOT isn't mincing words.  So if you want to stay on this side of the cell block this holiday weekend, plan ahead.

One DWI can cost you $17,000 to get through the legal system, and it can lead to the loss of your license and jail time.  Fall will be so much more fun without that.

A designated driver isn't the person who is the least drunk.  So get someone sober to take you home after that awesome party this weekend, and live to see more pumpkin spice and football next week.

Now back to your fantasy football draft and party planning.  Have fun.

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