Know your tolerance. This is the golden rule of consuming alcohol. If you know that two beers makes you tipsy and three makes you drunk, then having more than that is a bad decision. Tolerance levels depend on weight, height, gender and even genetics. If you aren't sure test your limit at home, in a safe environment with a friend or family member. (ref 2)
Choose designated drivers and drinking buddies. Designated drivers promise not to consume any alcohol so that they can give those who do a safe ride home. Implementing this practice with your friends could save your lives. The idea is to take turns, so that friends are willing to sit out one party knowing they can drink and get a safe ride home from the next one. Talk to your friends about checking up on one another at parties. Choose a person or persons to be a drinking buddy. If they haven't seen you for a while, they should look for you to see if you are all right. Promise not to leave the party without one another.
Prevent yourself from become too impaired. Regardless of your limit, drinking too quickly on an empty stomach can lead to negative consequences. To avoid this, sip your drinks rather than chugging them or taking straight shots of liquor. Consider alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Choose quality over quantity, if possible. Cultivate your taste for beers, wines and other liquor. This way you are drinking a particular drink because you enjoy it, not because you're just trying to get drunk. Eat before and during an episode of drinking.
Don't accept a drink from someone you don't know or trust, if you didn't see him get the drink. Often at college parties, a person might slip drugs into alcohol in order to render another person pliable or unconscious. If someone offers you a drink, watch them make it and bring it to you. If they disappear for any reason and you don't see the process of them getting the drink and then bringing it directly to you, don't drink it.
Make a back-up plan. Even the best intentions and well-laid plans can go awry. If you have to leave the party without your designated driver and/or drinking buddy, or if they've left the party, make sure you have the number of a cab company with you. Program it into your cell phone or write it on a piece of paper and put it in a secure pocket. If you don't have a cell phone, ask where the phone is when you arrive at the party, before you start drinking.
Drink water before you go to sleep. There are many hangover cures on the market. A hangover is largely the result of being dehydrated. If you need to sober up or know you've had too much alcohol, drink water.
Don't be afraid to vomit if necessary. If you've had too much to drink or think you may have been slipped a drug, the safest thing for you to do may be to induce vomiting with your index finger. It won't be comfortable, but it could save your life.