Key Messages

  

Don’t Push Your Luck. Plan Ahead!

  • Don’t hesitate – designate!  All St. Patrick’s Day party plans should include a designated driver.
  • Don’t test the luck of your four-leaf clover. Drive sober or get pulled over.
  • Help keep the paddy wagons parked. Volunteer to be the designated driver this St. Patrick’s Day.
  • Everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day. And everyone deserves to make it home safe.
  • It’s better to be prepared than to be lucky. Plan ahead!
    • Choose a Designated Driver
    • Taxi or rideshare
    • Take public transportation
    • Spend the night
    • Leave your car at home
    • Download and use the Safer Ride app to your phone, which can help get you home safely
  • There’s no pot of gold waiting when you drink and drive. Expect to pay at least $10k.
  • It’s your lucky charm to get home safely this Saint Patrick’s Day: download the SaferRide app

The Dangers of Impaired Driving

  • Drunk driving kills. In 2016 there were 10,497 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving drunk drivers in the US.
  • For the past five years, 40 percent of Saint Patrick’s Day weekend fatal crashes involved an impaired driver.
  • St. Patrick’s Day: 2016 marked the deadliest St. Patrick’s Day weekend since 2005 when eight fatal car crashes killed nine people, more than the previous four St. Patrick’s Day weekends combined. In the previous five years, 40 percent of St. Patrick’s Day weekend fatal crashes involved an impaired driver.
  • Half of all traffic deaths in Washington involve an impaired driver.
  • Driving while high doubles your chance of killing yourself or others in crash.
  • There were 278 fatalities involving an impaired driving in Washington in 2016.  Nearly 42 percent of those involved marijuana.
  • 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.

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