With the St. Patrick’s Day holiday coming up, several law enforcement agencies in Iowa will be increasing patrol for drunk and drugged drivers.

The next Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) Wave will take place from March 14th-17th. According to the Jefferson Police Department, in 2018 73 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday and 33-percent of pedestrians aged 16 and older killed in crashes had a blood alcohol concentration level at or above the legal limit of .08. In 2019 in Iowa, two crashes over the holiday resulted in four deaths.

The Jefferson Police Department urges anyone who may be consuming alcohol during the holiday to have a designated driver or make plans to get home safely, and to not drink and drive. Officers will be watching for drunk and drugged drivers, and those who do not wear seat belts.