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

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.

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