Super Bowl Sunday is Sunday, Feb. 7, and often more about the parties than the game. The parties have resulted in a measurable increase in impaired driving on that day.

During Super Bowl Sunday 2012, more than a third of traffic fatalities involved alcohol-impaired drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“It’s important to have a game-plan prior to kick-off and to beat this too often deadly opponent,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, president of the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), a local 34-year-old public-private partnership.

Plan to bring a designated driver. Plan to party where you can take public transportation. Plan to celebrate at home or someplace where you can spend the night. Plan to abstain. Plan to call a cab or Uber or Lyft and retrieve your car the next day if need be.

But don’t miss the chance to talk to the members of your household and members of your social circle about the importance of keeping impaired drivers off the road.