Law enforcement warning motorists: Drive sober and don’t press your luck on St. Patrick’s Day

Utah Highway Troopers stopping a wrong way DUI driver in Parleys Canyon Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Courtesy: Utah Department of Public Safety)

LOGAN — Law enforcement will be working extra DUI shifts as many celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, one of the biggest drinking nights of the year. Unfortunately, this means more drunk drivers could be on the roads.

Joe Dougherty, Public Affairs Director for the Department of Public Safety said if you choose to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, make sure you and your friends stay safe by remembering one important piece of advice: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. This means that if you plan to drink, it’s essential that you plan ahead for a sober ride home.

St. Patrick’s Day social media poster from the Utah Department of Public Safety

Officers from 15 agencies throughout Utah will be working over 50 additional DUI shifts on St. Patrick’s Day and through the weekend.

Idaho law enforcement agencies are planning similar blitzes. Trooper Daniel Taylor of the Idaho State Police said they are being proactive with education and will definitely be aggressive in their enforcement with the goal of protecting people from the danger posed by impaired drivers.

Statistics show, St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest times on our nation’s roads. During the 2015-2019 St. Patrick’s Day period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18), 280 lives were lost in drunk-driving crashes. In 2019, drunk driving killed more than 10,000 people in our country, and every single one of those deaths was preventable.

Over the St. Patrick’s Day period in 2019, 57 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes.

St. Patrick’s Day social media poster from the Idaho State Police

Between the hours of midnight and 5:59 a.m. over the St. Patrick’s Day period in 2019, more than half (63 percent) of crash fatalities involved a drunk driver.

Law enforcement warns that walking home instead of driving is dangerous too. In 2019, 32 percent of the pedestrians killed in traffic crashes had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above .08.

Despite the fact that it’s illegal to drive when impaired by alcohol, in 2019, one person was killed every 52 minutes by a drunk driver on our nation’s roads.

Dougherty also warned of the financial costs of driving drunk. On average, a DUI can set you back $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, and more.

Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver who does not plan to drink any alcohol. And, if you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911 immediately.


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