Don’t Let Your Luck Run out this St. Patrick’s Day—Add a Sober Driver to Your Party Checklist

For Americans of all ethnic backgrounds, there is no better reason for a celebration than Saint Patrick’s Day* and no better place to celebrate Irish heritage than in my home town of Chicago.

Chicago traditions for the day include two of the biggest parades in the U.S. and the dyeing of the Chicago River green. Unfortunately, Chicagoans learned a big lesson on why celebrating and drinking doesn’t necessarily mix as one tradition recently got out of hand. Last year authorities announced that the annual South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a 30 year tradition, was canceled for 2010 due to large rowdy crowds and drunken antics.
Celebrations across the country have become very dangerous due to excessive drinking and a large number of drunk drivers. On St. Patrick’s Day 2008, 37 percent of the drivers and motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes had a blood alcohol content of .08 or above, according to statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Additional NHTSA statistics reveal that there were 134 crash fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day in 2008. Of that number, 50 people were killed in traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcyclist who was legally drunk.

So, with St. Patrick’s Day approaching and party plans developing, hosts and guests should add one more thing to their party checklist to ensure the celebration doesn’t get out of hand: a sober driver. Here are five additional tips for a safe St. Patrick’s Day celebration:

1. Plan a safe way home before the celebration begins;
2. Use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation if you’re impaired and are unable to drive;
3. Use the Sober Rides program, if your community has one;
4. Contact local law enforcement if you see a drunk driver on the road;
5. Take the keys from someone you know who is about to drive while impaired and help them make other travel arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

Remember on St. Patrick’s Day and every day — Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.

For more information, visit the Impaired Driving Division of the NHTSA.

* NHTSA defines the St. Patrick’s Day Holiday as 6:00 p.m. March 16th through 6:59 a.m. on March 18th.

Tagged as: impaired driving, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sober rides, St. Patrick's Day