It might not be “cool” to be worried about staying safe while you’re out partying, but it’s important nonetheless. Here are some great tools to make sure you have a good time out, and make it home safely.

During the pandemic, people were unable to gather their friends, head to a club and let loose. Bars were closed, pubs were shut, everybody was hosting parties on Zoom – not quite the same thing! Being able to go out with friends, try new cocktails, meet new people, and just dance the night away has been a long-standing tradition for most people. The pandemic put paid to that with businesses shutting down, clubs being closed, and everybody waiting, just waiting to get back out there again. Now that the world is getting back to something normal again, clubs are reopening and it’s time to drill back into people how to be safe while partying with their friends.

You may roll your eyes, you may have heard it all, but safety while you’re out with friends is one of the most important things that you can ensure that you know about. You should know how to look after yourself, but you should also know how to keep the right company who will look out for you while you’re out. It’s idealistic to think that the world is a safe and wonderful place, and we would all like that to be the case. Unfortunately whilst you can trust your friends, and maybe you can trust yourself even with a few drinks along the way, you cannot always trust everybody else. Not everybody has the right intentions when it comes to your health and well-being. So, the best thing that you can do is make sure that you know how to be safe.

With the world reopening, if your first thought is going out partying you need this article. Let’s explore some of the best ways that you can stay safe on a night out. This is not a lecture; this is a way for you to ensure you have the best time every time.

Stick together. When you go out to pubs, clubs, bars or even restaurants, the strength is in your numbers. Not only do you want to have a large group of people around you, you need those people to know to look out for you while you are out. There is strength in numbers. If something should go wrong or, or if somebody breaks away from the pack, the rest of the group will be aware to look out for that person. It is vital that you are all looking out for each other, from stopping things that have been dropped into drinks, to who calls the car accident lawyer if one of you decides to drive drunk.(Let’s not do that, thank you). Always bloody up when it comes to going to bathrooms are you going to get food or even going to the bar to get drinks. Being alone makes you vulnerable, so don’t be alone!

Never, ever leave your drink alone. This one cannot be stressed enough: do not leave your drink unattended while you are out. If you’re not holding your drink somebody could slip something into it to drug you, it could be stolen, it could be spilled, any of these things could really mess up your night. Nobody wants to be drugged on a night out, so you should never ask anybody to hold your drink for you. There are some nifty little inventions nowadays, such as covers that you can pop over your drink aside from the straw and that way you can dance with confidence. In a perfect world, people just wouldn’t drug drinks in the first place. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

Stick to well lit areas. If you and your group decide to walk from club to take away, the take away to the bus stop, a bus stop to home, you must always make sure you are staying in the main roads and well lit streets. That dark alley behind the bus stop? That is not an alley for you to walk down when you are vulnerable, potentially drunk and by yourself especially. Always stick to walking in lit up areas because people can see you, you can see the world around you, and if needed you can flag a car, or taxi, or police officer for help.

Keep pepper spray in your bag. Honestly, this one is something that everybody fights against. Nobody wants to put the phone, the keys, their wallet, oh – and a bottle of pepper spray – into the bag before they go on a night out. You want space for makeup, club tokens, the phone number of that cute person you saw at the bar. The thing is, this is about your safety and you never know when you might need it. The good news is that you can easily carry pepper spray on a keychain, which makes it pretty small to put in your bag. Don’t worry, no giant aerosol containers here.

Know where your exits are. No matter where you walk into, know how to get back out again. If your place is crowded, you may not always be able to come back through the door you entered in the first place. Look for the red exit signs and the different ways to get in and out of the location you’re in. If there’s an emergency you’re going to want to get out as quickly as possible. You may also think about checking with your bartenders if there is somewhere for you to be that safe if you feel threatened. You can do this ahead of time but it may feel like overkill. Your safety is never overkill.

Ask for Angela. This may not be something that you are familiar with, but there is a system in bars and clubs where you can ask the bartender for Angela and this will prompt them to understand that you are in danger, you’re in trouble, and you need help. This is a code way of asking them to get you out of there as quickly as possible. Some clubs and bars have information in the toilet stalls, so check the bathrooms of the location you have had to before you ask around the bartender for anybody called Angela.

Do not drive. If you are planning to drink alcohol, even just one glass, make sure that you are taking public transport to wherever you need to be, or you have a designated driver of your group. There is no circumstance where you need to be driving after you have a drink with your friends. If you are somebody who knows that just one glass of wine will be fine, it’s not happening. If you have drunk people in your car, and you get pulled over, you could be breathalysed. If they pick up just one glass of wine, you could end up being arrested and need a lawyer. You could also be putting other people in danger on the pavement and on the road, and you don’t need to do that.

Plan your night carefully. No matter where you’re going with your friends, check out the clubs, pubs and bars beforehand. You need to know that they have a good reputation, good security, and they have the kind of stuff that will look after you even while you’re having fun. There’s no use going down to the back alley club that’s hidden away from the main road with no regular taxis, lights or cars. Safety is your biggest biggest priority.

You deserve to have an amazing, fun, I’m happy night out that brings so many memories. Whether you’re going alone or with your friends, always be aware of your surroundings and make sure that you are all safe.