UTAH, March 16, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Highway Patrol is alerting potential St. Patrick’s Day revelers that it will have extra officers out Thursday through Sunday to apprehend drunk drivers.
“It is often is one of the biggest drinking nights of the year, and this, unfortunately, means more drunk drivers on the roads,” a UHP statement says. “However you celebrate, make sure you and your friends stay safe this St. Paddy’s Day by remembering one important piece of advice: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.
“This means that if you plan to drink, it’s essential that you plan ahead for a sober ride home.”
Officers from 15 agencies throughout the state will be working over 50 additional DUI shifts on St. Patrick’s Day and through the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the statement says.
Holiday statistics
St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest times on our nation’s roads, the UHP statement says:
During the 2015-2019 St. Patrick’s Day period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18), 280 lives were lost in drunk-driving crashes. In 2019, drunk driving killed more than 10,000 people in our country, and every single one of those deaths was preventable.
In 2019 alone, 57 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes over the St. Patrick’s Day period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18).
Between the hours of midnight and 5:59 a.m. over the St. Patrick’s Day period in 2019, more than half (63%) of crash fatalities involved a drunk driver.
Walking home after a night out drinking alcohol? In 2019, 32% of the pedestrians killed in traffic crashes had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above .08. Arrange for a sober ride or for a sober friend to walk you home.
For more information about the Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving campaign, click here.
