With St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow many people may go out celebrating with friends and family with a few beverages, and the Iowa State Patrol wants everyone to remember to be safe. 

Public Resource Officer for District 4 Trooper Shelby McCreedy says St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally a holiday where people celebrate with alcoholic beverages. She points out that this can lead to an increase of impaired drivers on the road.

“Statistics show that the average person spends about $43 on beverages over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday and there is a 174-percent increase in beer sales and a 153-percent increase in liquor sales on that day alone. So, obviously there is a lot of consumption which means as far as safety goes you need to plan ahead.”

McCreedy tells Raccoon Valley Radio people need to have a designated driver or line up a cab or an Uber ahead of time and not drive while impaired. Also, McCreedy says there will be an increased presence of law enforcement along the Highway 30 corridor as part of an initiative to keep the statewide fatalities below 300 this year. 

“We are going to saturate the Highway 30 corridor with our personnel in order to try and take impaired drivers off the roadway and ensure the safety for everybody who happens to be on the roadways.”

McCreedy says they will be collaborating with local police and sheriff’s offices to create a larger presence in the area all day and into the night during St. Patrick’s Day.