For many Pennsylvanians, St. Patrick’s Day has become a popular “night out” to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, due to the large number of impaired drivers, that “night out” has become very dangerous.
In Pennsylvania, impaired driving (being under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of both) remains a top safety issue. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reports that from 2012 to 2016 alcohol related crashes and fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day resulted in 182 crashes and 6 fatalities.
That’s why the Center for Traffic Safety is teaming up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, PennDOT, the Pennsylvania DUI Association, and local and state law enforcement agencies to reach all drivers with an important life-saving message and warning: “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
In an effort to keep impaired drivers off the road, law enforcement agencies throughout Adams, Lancaster, and York Counties have scheduled roving DUI patrols, keeping an eye out for signs of driver impairment. Roving DUI patrols will be conducted throughout this weekend.
If you do make the irresponsible decision to drive impaired, law enforcement is well-trained and prepared to remove you from behind the wheel before you seriously injure or kill yourself or someone else.
Sobriety checkpoints, roving DUI patrols, and other enforcement activities organized as part of this program are funded with federal grant money provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and are established on sections of roadway which have proven to be high incidence for impaired drivers both in terms of crashes and arrests.
The Center for Traffic Safety is also reminding Pennsylvania motorists of the state’s Ignition Interlock Law. Under the current law, ignition interlock is required for anyone convicted of impaired driving two or more times. A new and improved Ignition Interlock Law will go into effect in August 2017, requiring the device for first time offenders.
According to the Pennsylvania DUI Association’s Ignition Interlock Quality Assurance Program, in 2016, 5,599 repeat DUI offenders drove 63.7 million safe miles on Pennsylvania roadways as a result of the Ignition Interlock requirement in the Pennsylvania DUI Law. In addition, 53,083 attempts to drive impaired were stopped as a result of the required device.
If you are convicted of impaired driving, you also face significant legal and financial consequences that include jail time, the loss of your driver’s license, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, and lost wages due to time off from work. A DUI conviction can cost as much as $10,000 or more. Also, there’s the embarrassment, humiliation, and consequences of telling your family, friends and employers of your arrest.
“Impaired driving crashes and fatalities are 100% preventable,” said Barbara Zortman, Director, Center for Traffic Safety. “Planning a sober ride home before the party begins is the first step in staying safe on St. Patrick’s Day. Too many people wait until after they’ve started drinking to figure out how they will get home, but by then, it’s too late to make a clear-headed decision,” added Zortman.
If you plan to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day, follow these tips to stay safe:
• Before celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this year, decide whether you’ll drink or you’ll drive. You can’t do both.
If you’re planning on driving, commit to staying sober – that means NO alcohol.
• If you have been drinking, call a taxi or sober friend or family member, use public transportation. Also, try NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, which helps users call a taxi or a friend for a ride home and identify their location so they can be picked up.
• Help those around you be responsible, too. Walking while intoxicated can also be deadly, as lack of attention could put you at risk of getting hit by a vehicle.
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take his/her keys and help him/her make other arrangements to get to where he/she is going safely.
• If you see someone who appears to be driving impaired, call 9-1-1. Your actions could help save a life.
The bottom line this St. Patrick’s Day: Plan Before You Party. “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
