AAA: Don’t Rely on the ‘Luck of the Irish’–Safety Tips Ahead of St. Patrick’s Day Weekend
This year St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday this year, and that means more parties throughout the weekend. St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest times on our nation’s roads. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety offers these tips to have a safe St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
• If you’re venturing out to a pub or attending a St. Patrick’s Day party, plan ahead.
• Decide whether you’ll drink or you’ll drive – you can’t do both.
• If you will drink, designate a sober, reliable driver to get you home safely or plan to call a taxi, ride share, sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• If you plan on driving, commit to staying sober.
• If you see a driver on the road that you suspect is impaired, pull over to a safe spot and call 911, giving police a description of the vehicle.
• If you see people who are about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.
If you’re hosting a party where alcohol is being served, be a responsible host:
- Have food and non-alcoholic beverages available.
- Remember that it takes 40 minutes or longer for alcohol from a drink to be absorbed.
- Take note of who’s coming, who drinks, and who drives.
- Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers.
- Stop serving alcohol at least an hour before your guests start to leave for home.
- Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving while impaired.
