St. Paddy's Day Makes Driving More Dangerous

Last year on St. Patrick’s Day, nearly half of the drivers and motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes had a blood alcohol content of .08 or above.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - For many Americans, St. Patrick’s Day has become a popular night out to celebrate with friends and family.

Unfortunately, due to the large volume of impaired drivers, the night out has also become very dangerous, so it will also be a big night out for increased saturation patrols targeting impaired and dangerous drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 44 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2007 that occurred during the evening of St. Patrick's Day to the early hours of the following morning involved a drinking driver. Of those, a vast majority were crashes where the driver's blood alcohol concentration was .08 or higher.

Alcohol continues to be a problem on Oregon roads. Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which is based on police, medical, and other information, show that in 2006, 37.4 percent of all Oregon traffic fatalities were alcohol-related. 149 of the fatalities involved only alcohol; 33 involved only other drugs; and 21 were a combination of both alcohol and other drugs.

Between 2001 and 2005 of the 25 children age 0-14 killed in alcohol-involved crashes, 18 (or 72%) were passengers in a vehicle operated by a driver who had been drinking.

State, county, and city police agencies want everyone to enjoy a safe St. Patrick’s Day without jeopardizing their life and the lives of the others who may be on the road.

Following a few simple precautions can prevent much of the death and destruction from drunk drivers:

• Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin
• Before drinking, please designate a sober driver and give that person your keys;
• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely;
• Use your local community Sober Rides program;
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact your local law enforcement;
• And remember, if you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely;
• Always buckle up – it's still your best defense against an impaired driver;
• Report impaired drivers to law enforcement by calling 911. Reports in Oregon can also be called into the Oregon State Police dispatch at 1-800-24DRUNK (243-7865), and in Washington at (360) 449-7950.

In 2006, 13,470 people in America were killed in traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcyclist with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.

Driving impaired or riding with someone who is impaired is simply not worth the risk. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be really significant.

Don’t depend on dumb luck this St. Patrick’s Day. Designate your sober driver before the party begins.

For more information, please visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.