LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- It's New Year's Eve and people are being reminded to celebrate safely.
New Year's Eve celebrations usually involve food, drinks, watching the ball drop, and the oh-so-popular fireworks. Well, this New Year's Eve the Lafayette Police Department wants to remind people to be safe while celebrating with fireworks and be responsible on the roadway.
Sgt. Robin Green with the Lafayette Police Department said fireworks are prohibited from being popped in the city, and it's safer to pop them outside of city limits.
"There is an ordinance 62-43, which means that fireworks are not allowed to be parked within the city."
In addition to fireworks in city limits being off-limits, Green said the same thing about firing guns. She says it's hard to tell the difference between fireworks and gunfire, there it puts people at risk when fired.
"This is not a chance for people to pull out their guns and shoot them. So we discourage people from firing guns as a part of the celebrations because, you know, bullets go up, but they have to come back down, and so this can cause someone to be killed or severely injured."
Green said people are reminded to be responsible if drinking is involved.
"We want people within our community to know that if they plan to attend any of these celebrations or parties or just take advantage of our nightlife, that if they plan to consume alcohol, to have a designated driver or take part in many of the rideshare programs that are offered to them, we just we want to discourage people that have been consuming alcohol to get behind the wheel."
So if your New Year's Eve celebration involves a few cocktails or popping fireworks, remember to plan accordingly for your safety and the safety of others.
