St. Patrick's Day DUI Checkpoints Planned In North Penn Area

LANSDALE, PA — A regional initiative is underway around southeastern Pennsylvania to crack down on drunk driving on one of the biggest partying weekends of the year.

The North Penn DUI Task Force will join other municpialities and regional law enforcement coalitions in plotting sobriety checkpoints leading up to and through the St. Patrick's Day weekend.

Increased DUI enforcement patrols will be on the roads around the area, and will particularly target areas where crashes have occurred with alcohol as a factor.

Some 70 crashes in the five-county Philadelphia area involved drunk drivers during St. Patrick's Day week in 2022, according to PennDOT data. Two people died.

And there's been a 24 percent increase in drunk driving in the last three years in the region, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

“Drunk drivers are a continuing problem on our nation’s roads, especially around days like St. Patrick’s Day,” PennDOT spokesperson Krys Johnson said in a statement. “People need to know that they can go out for a night of fun and return home safely by ensuring they have a sober driver take them home. Don’t be the reason someone – including yourself – doesn’t get home.”

Pennsylvania's legal alcohol limit is .08 for most drivers, .04 for commercial vehicles, and .02 for school bus operators.

Roving patrols are funded by a PennDOT grant and are one of many tools used to increase public safety through increased awareness created by high profile enforcement.