St. Patrick’s Day Key Messages

 

Don’t Push Your Luck. Plan Ahead!

  • Buzzed driving is drunk driving.

  • 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.

  • 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 $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.

  • 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 2017 there were 266 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving drunk drivers in the Washington.

  • St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest holidays on our nation’s roads. In 2017 alone, 59 people – 37 percent of all crash fatalities – were killed in drunk driving crashes over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday period.

  • 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.

  • Among drivers involved in fatal crashes 2008-2016 that tested positive for alcohol or drugs, 44 percent tested positive for two-or-more substances (poly-drug drivers).

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

  • 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

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