The luck of the Irish is not enough to reduce sobering St. Patrick’s Day statistics offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that indicate in the past five years, 851 people were killed in crashes during the holiday and 327 of them were involved in crashes caused by drunk driving.
That’s why the Charles County Sheriff’s Office is cautioning citizens to drive responsibly on St. Patrick’s Day or risk jail time or, even worse, a severe or fatal vehicle collision. “St. Patrick’s Day might be a time to celebrate the luck of the Irish but it is no excuse for drunk driving,” said Sheriff Rex Coffey. “Unlike planned New Year’s celebrations, St. Patrick’s Day gatherings are often spontaneous but even so, there is always time to plan a safe ride home.”
The Sheriff’s Office will conduct a sobriety checkpoint and officers will be patrolling for drunk drivers. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office encourages citizens to remember the following safety tips:
* No matter how spontaneous your celebration, plan a safe way home before the festivities begin
* Designate a sober driver before anyone begins consuming alcohol
* If you are impaired call a sober friend a family member or call the Safe Ride program operated LifeStyles, Inc., at 1-866-293-0623
* If you see a drunk driver on the road, call police as soon as possible and be sure to provide a description of the vehicle including its make, model, tag number, color, location and direction of travel
* If you know someone who is about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely
“If you plan on consuming alcohol to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, be responsible,” said Sheriff Coffey. “If you don’t plan on consuming alcohol but find yourself in that situation anyway, remember that making plans to get home safely won’t spoil the spontaneity of your celebration. It could mean the difference between life and death.”
NHTSA’s research indicates that impaired driving remains one of America’s deadliest problems. In 2007, it reports that 41,059 people nationwide were killed in motor vehicle crashes and 12,998 of them were killed in crashes that involved at least on driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. For more information, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.
