State Patrol: Plan A Sober Ride For St. Patrick's Day
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – If you plan on going out for the St. Patrick's Day weekend, authorities said you'll want to make sure you have a sober ride.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Thursday the State Patrol will have extra squads out over the weekend looking for impaired drivers. The St. Patrick's Day weekend is historically a big one for drinking and driving and with that comes a higher risk for alcohol-related crashes and deaths.
Authorities said they are especially concerned this year as the holiday falls on a Monday, increasing the chances of a weekend-long celebration for some.
Safety officials said over the past five years, there have been 1,450 arrests for DWI on St. Patrick's Day. That started with 218 in 2009 and has gone up steadily every year since, with 375 arrests last year.
Over that same time period, there have been more than 1,700 crashes resulting in nine deaths.
