Zero Tolerance for Those Driving Drunk on St. Patrick's Day

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 2009 to 2013, 276 people died in drunk-driving crashes over St. Patrick’s Day. Local police are stepping up enforcement to try to prevent those tragedies.

”The St. Patrick’s Day holiday time period can be a deadly and dangerous time on Illinois roadways. To help prevent traffic fatalities due to impairment from drugs and / or alcohol, the Grayslake Police Department will be focusing on the most deadly time of day for motor vehicle fatalities,” the police department stated in a written release. “Beginning on Friday, March 13, 2015 running through Sunday, March 22, 2015, the intensified enforcement”

Police also want to caution residents that if they host a party in which someone drinks and gets behind the wheel, they can be held liable. To that end, Crystal Lake Police offer the following tips which resonate long after St. Patrick’s Day:

If you are hosting a party:

• Make sure all of your guests designate a sober driver in advance or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers;
• Serve lots of food and include lots of non-alcoholic beverages at the party;
• Keep the phone numbers for local cab companies handy and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving drunk.

If you are attending a party:

• Designate a sober driver before the party begins and give that person your car keys;
• If you do not have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home, call a cab, sober friend or family member to pick you up or just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober;
• Never let a friend leave your sight if you think they are about to drive while drunk;
• Always buckle up – it is still your best defense against a drunk driver.