St. Patrick’s Day Weekend is a notoriously deadly period for impaired driving due to the number of celebrations and drivers on the road. New York State Police, Tompkins County Sheriff's Office, municipal law enforcement agencies and STOP-DWI Programs across the state will be participating in special engagement efforts to reduce the number of alcohol related injuries and deaths. The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on March 16th and will end on March 20th, 2022.
State wide, last year's St. Patrick's Day campaign resulted in 1,944 arrests for DWI.
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 three out of five (63) crash fatalities involved a drunk driver.
Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI High Visibility Engagement Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving. You can help to make a difference by Having a Sober Plan! Download our mobile app – “Have a Plan” and you will always be able to find a safe ride home www.stopdwi.org/mobileapp . Impaired driving is completely preventable. All it takes is a little planning.
