Luck won't keep you safe on St. Pat's Day

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, last year in Illinois, three people lost their lives on St. Patrick's Day. One of those deaths involved a drinking driver. Over the last five years in Illinois, 26 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes, of which 11 (42 percent) involved a drinking driver.

These were preventable, senseless, irresponsible deaths. Therefore, IDOT is utilizing federal highway safety dollars this St. Patrick's Day to fund the Illinois State Police and various local police agencies' roadside safety checks and other stepped-up impaired driving enforcement details such as saturation patrols.

Designating a sober driver should be on the top of everyone's St. Patrick's Day party list, but there are other ways you can help save lives too.

If you are hosting a St. Patrick's Day party:

• Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in an impaired driving crash.

• Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers.

• Serve lots of food and include lots of nonalcoholic beverages at the party.

• Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving impaired.

Driving impaired is simply not worth the risk because the consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving are significant.

Please act responsibly this St. Patrick's Day. You can save a life and a lifetime of regret by planning ahead. Give your keys to a sober driver before the party begins.

Charlene Chapman

Executive Director

Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists

Schaumburg