Blackout Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, is among the deadliest for alcohol-related crashes

HOUSTON – On one of the year’s most notorious nights for drunk driving, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable deputies hit the streets Wednesday night, working to prevent tragedy before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Known as “Blackout Wednesday,” the night before Thanksgiving historically ranks among the deadliest for alcohol-related crashes nationwide.

Lieutenant Roger Wolsey, a 32-year veteran of the force, led KPRC 2 News on an exclusive ride-along to witness the department’s drunk driving crackdown firsthand.

“You’re behind a deadly weapon,” Wolsey said. “When you’re getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, you’re making a very conscious, serious decision that to make sure you operate that vehicle safely.”

A Deadly Season Begins

The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is particularly dangerous on Houston-area roads.

“Anytime around the holidays, you’re going to have a heightened sense of danger,” Wolsey explained. “Harris County per capita tends to run pretty high when it comes to impaired drivers and impaired drivers that lead to fatality crashes.”

The challenge isn’t just alcohol, Wolsey noted.

“Most people tend to mix both. They get out there and get a cocktail of recreational drugs, then they start mixing marijuana with those recreational drugs and then alcohol and even over-the-counter medications,” he said. “Combined with fatigue throughout the week, it’s just a bad combination.”

Night of Enforcement

Throughout the night, Wolsey and his team conducted numerous traffic stops, looking for signs of impairment.

“We’re going to increase the number of units in the area,” Wolsey said. “We’re already looking for impaired drivers on a day-to-day basis.”

The team’s approach involves checking for various signs of impairment.

“Whether it’s alcohol or prescription medications, illicit or prescribed, it could even be as simple as something like Ambien,” Wolsey explained. “It’s the loss of the mental and/or physical faculties to be able to operate a vehicle safely.”

During the operation, deputies encountered everything from minor traffic violations to suspected DUI cases.

In one instance, officers arrested a woman showing signs of impairment during field sobriety tests.

“She wasn’t able to cooperate with the instructions and she wasn’t maintaining her balance,” Wolsey noted.

It’s one of the many DUI arrests that Precinct 4 Constable deputies made overnight.

Making a Difference

For Wolsey, who has had to deliver devastating news to families throughout his career, each arrest represents lives potentially saved.

“Whenever you stop somebody that has made that decision, you’re not ever going to know immediately the satisfaction of knowing that they didn’t kill somebody that night,” he said. “But the sheer fact that you know that they’re going with you, that’s 100% guarantee that they’re not going to hurt or injure anybody that night.”

The lieutenant emphasized the availability of alternatives to drunk driving.

“We have Ubers available, we have Lyft, we have designated drivers,” he said. “Make sure you phone somebody, make sure you make a good decision, and do not get on a highway after you’ve consumed any type of alcohol or any type of prescription medication, recreational or otherwise.”

The Human Cost

In his 32 years of service, including 13 years in highway patrol, Wolsey has had to deliver the worst possible news to families.

“Whenever you have that grim reality that somebody just passed away in a traffic collision and it was an impaired driver that took that loved one’s family member, you have to deliver that message at their home,” he said. “It is never easy to do so. It’s never easy to break that message to them. And no matter which way you try to lessen the blow, it is never easy.”

As families gather for Thanksgiving celebrations, these enforcement efforts help ensure more people make it safely to their dinner tables, something for which everyone can be thankful.