Virginia State Police Crackdown On Drunk Drivers St. Patrick's Day Weekend

DEL RAY, VA — St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching, and Virginia State Police are reminding residents that no luck of the Irish will help them when it comes to drunk driving.

“Buzzed or drunk driving puts everyone’s life at risk,” Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, said in a statement. “There is no excuse for it when today’s technology allows you to call for a ride at the press of a button. A rideshare will cost you a few dollars, but driving drunk could cost someone their life.”

The number of drunk drivers on the road makes St. Patrick's Day one of the deadliest holidays, Virginia State Police said. Every 72 minutes during the holiday, a life is claimed in an alcohol-related crash.

Since Virginia state troopers are anticipating an increase in drunk drivers this weekend, the State Police will increase patrols to detect those motorists who choose to drive under the influence.

"Impaired driving claimed 241 lives on Virginia’s highways in 2015 and each of these deaths was 100% preventable," Flaherty said.

According to personal finance website WalletHub, the average St. Patrick’s Day partier will spent $38. Virginia State Police want to remind residents that the average cost of a taxi in the U.S. is just $11-$18.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a SaferRide app available for Android and Apple users, where partiers can call a taxi or a friend for a ride home and identify their location to be picked up.

Northern Virginia residents can also get a SoberRide beginning on Saint Patrick's Day at 4 p.m. Friday, March 17. Free rides will continue until 4 a.m. Saturday, March 18, provided by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) and Lyft.

Lyft will provide SoberRide trips to would-be drunk drivers throughout the Greater Washington area to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during a traditionally high-risk period. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one-in-four U.S. traffic deaths during the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day holiday involved drunk drivers.

Area residents age 21 or older celebrating with alcohol can download Lyft to their phones, then enter the code SOBERRIDE in the app's 'Promo' section to receive their no cost (up to $20 fare) safe transportation home. The SoberRide code is valid for both new and existing Lyft users.

While SoberRide provides a free cab ride home up to a $20 fare, callers must pay for any fare over $20.

SoberRide is offered throughout Lyft’s Washington, D.C. coverage area which includes all or parts of: the District of Columbia; the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s; and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.

Virginia State Police want to remind all residents of the following:

Ensure you have a designated sober driver before any drinking begins.

• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call for a rideshare such as Uber or Lyft, call a friend or family member, or stay where you are if possible.
• To drink and drive is a crime. If you witness a drunk driver on the road, dial #77 on a cell phone for the nearest Virginia State Police Emergency Communications Center or call 911;
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride a motorcycle while impaired, take the keys and help them make arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

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