March 2020 St. Patrick’s Day Impairment Campaign

Don’t Push Your Luck. Plan Ahead!

• Most people in Washington believe driving impaired is unsafe and unacceptable.

• It’s not true that using cannabis after drinking will sober you up. If you use marijuana after drinking alcohol you increase your crash risk.

• Buzzed driving is drunk driving.

• Don’t hesitate – designate! All St. Patrick’s Day party plans should include a designated driver.

• Don’t rely on the luck of the Irish. Drive sober or get pulled over.

• Be someone’s lucky charm this Saint Patrick’s Day. Volunteer to be the designated driver.

• Create your own luck this St. Patrick’s Day. Plan ahead!

  • Choose a Designated Driver

  • Taxi or rideshare

  • Take public transportation

  • Spend the night

  • Leave your car at home

• You’ll lose a lot of green when you drink and drive. Expect to pay at least $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing and repairs, and more if you get a DUI.

The Dangers of Impaired Driving

• Impaired driving kills. In 2018 there were 319 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving alcohol or drug impaired drivers in Washington.

• St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest holidays on our nation’s roads. From 2014 -2018, 249 people were killed nationally due to drunk driving crashes over the holiday.

• Most people believe mixing alcohol with other drugs and driving is dangerous, and with good reason. Forty-four percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes from 2008-2016, who tested positive for alcohol or drugs, tested positive for two-or-more substances (poly-drug drivers).

• Alcohol and cannabis are the most common combination of intoxicants.

• The number of poly-drug drivers has increased an average of 15 percent every year since 2012.

• Between 2008-2017, 597 people died in crashes in Washington involving delta-9 THC positive drivers, which was about 12% of all traffic deaths.

• Alcohol and drug impaired driving is the leading contributing factor in Washington fatal crashes. Nearly half of all traffic deaths in Washington involve an impaired driver.

• Would you get in a car with someone who had difficulty steering, impaired perception and concentration, short-term memory loss and lack of speed control? These are all the effects on driving of someone who has a blood alcohol concentration of .08.

Impaired driving includes:

• Alcohol

• Marijuana

• Illegal drugs

• Prescription drugs

• Many over the counter drugs like Nyquil, pain and allergy meds

DUI Consequences

• $5,000 fine

• Legal bills of up to $10,000

• 100% increase in insurance rates

• One year in jail

• Suspended license

• Installation of ignition interlock device on your car

DUI Doesn’t mean just Alcohol

• Impaired driving includes:

  • Alcohol

  • Marijuana

  • Illegal drugs

  • Prescription drugs

  • Many over the counter drugs like Nyquil, Ambien, pain and allergy meds

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