(Undated)– It’s almost time for the wearing of the green. St. Patrick’s Day is coming up this Sunday, but the Iowa State Patrol is reminding people not to rely on the luck of the Irish. Too much green beer and getting behind the wheel could be a deadly combination for you, your passengers, or other motorists. Trooper Kevin Krull says the fact that the holiday is on the weekend this year means people may have to think about what they are doing, and plan ahead…
“Just like oil and water water green beer and driving don’t mix well. We understand this is one of our more celebrated holidays throughout the nation and lots of parties going on like the parades, town festivals, celebrating their Irish heritage and you know there’s nothing wrong with that. We really appreciate that, we recognize that. But we also want people to be safe. We party it up, we have a good time, let’s continue that plan to get that ride home so that everyone gets home safely.”
Krull says the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau will be doing a special Traffic Enforcement Period in connection with St. Patrick’s Day…
“As with most of our holidays we’ll have extra officers out there. For some of these holidays it’s for the travel days and stuff like that. We’re just going to increase that whole week of St. Patrick’s Day and have that increased stepped up enforcement for that buzzed driving because buzzed driving is drunk driving.”
GTSB also reminds drivers to watch for pedestrians. An increase in alcohol consumption and pedestrian traffic can be a dangerous combination.
