St. Patrick’s Day may have started in Ireland, but it’s celebrated in many places around the world and across the United States, but when drinking becomes a part of the celebrations, things can quickly turn sour if you do not enjoy yourself responsibly.
Though it’s important to be careful while driving on any day, if a driver’s focus is thrown because they’re looking forward to – or are thinking back on – an exciting celebration, accidents can happen much more easily.
This year, insurance experts and law enforcement personnel alike are hoping to help everyone to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day safely with tips to make sure that everyone gets home in one piece. These tips include the following:
• Plan your trip and let your friends and family know when they should expect you
• Bring a cell phone with you just in case, but don’t use it while behind the wheel
• Obey all traffic signs, coming to full stops and keeping a safe distance from the vehicles around you.
• Lock your doors whenever you’re not in your car
• Only stop and ask for directions in areas that are well-lit and where there are lots of people.
• Never drive after you’ve had anything to drink. Even two drinks can be enough to impair your ability to drive and cause you to fail a DUI test
• Use the services available to you. There are many programs being run on that day to help to keep drivers off the road after they’ve been drinking. For example, many bars have QR codes in various locations, such as on drink coasters, to help make it easier for you to call a cab to bring you home safely.
