BURTON, Michigan (WJRT) – (11/22/2017) – Bars across Mid Michigan are overflowing with people celebrating the holiday.
The night before Thanksgiving is long-considered one of the busiest bar nights of the year.
State and local police are out in full force too, making sure drivers make it home safely.
Police in Burton want to make sure folks celebrate responsibly, and thanks to federal grant money, they have dedicated patrols for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
“Everyone’s home,” said Morgan Rombach, a senior at SVSU, “first chance to see everyone in a long time.”
She’s celebrating being at home for the holiday with her friends from high school, but she’s doing so responsibly with a designated driver.
“What will he get to drink tonight,” we inquired. “Probably water,” Rombach replied.
“Not worth going out on the road unless you have someone who can drive,” said Josh Lazenby.
Lazenby is celebrating his 26th birthday at the bar, and he’s also got a designated driver.
“So what are you drinking tonight,” we asked his friend Kristopher Hoffa, “Sprite, Shirley Temples,” he said.
A smart strategy according to Sergeant Tom Bade with the Burton Police Department.
“Either have somebody step up to be the designated driver, or kick in some money for an Uber driver or a taxi, it’s not that hard and a lot of people make them available on night’s like this,” said Sgt. Bade.
Sgt. Bade is hitting the streets this Thanksgiving Eve, looking out for drunk drivers.
“Trouble staying in their lane, sitting at green lights, that kind of thing,” he explains when asked what he looks for from other drivers.
“Unfortunately for a lot of people, they get stopped because they’re not drunk driving, but they’re texting and driving,” Bade said, “it has a lot of the exact same effects.”
A driver pulled over for driving without tail lights on his trailer Wednesday evening, gets off with a warning
“No lights whatsoever, but this guy’s got good driving record,” said Bade. “No issues, just going to this house right there, we’ll let him slide.”
But for those heading out for the evening Sgt. Bade hopes they have a plan to get home safely.
Veteran bar tender Patricia Lay plays a role in that.
“A lot of people that come here are regulars so we kind of know,” she said, “that they’ll have Ubers or Lyfts or one of their friends is driving. I do see a lot of people come in with friends that drink water or coke all night.”
“You have to be aware of how much you’re serving – don’t over serve,” she said.
Lay says she has no problem cutting someone off.
Sgt. Bade says it will get busy on the roads shortly before closing. His advice? Leave the bar early.