Be lucky this st. patrick's day with a designated driver

On St. Saint Patrick`s Day, your designated driver could be your "lucky" four-leaf clover. Just ask Jonathan Adkins, communicating director of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), in Washington D.C., D.C., Glynn Birch, subject president of female parent Against Drunk drive (MADD), in Washington Irving, Tex., and Sam Sorich, vice president and horse opera regional director for the place Casualty Insurers Association of United States (PCI), in Des Plaines, Ill.

"GHSA reminds the populace to make the 'lucky' choice this St. Saint Patrick`s Day �" don`t drink and drive," says Adkins, of GHSA, a nonprofit organization headquarted in Washington D.C., D.C., that focusing on changing driver behaviour to reduce vehicular accident-related deaths and injuries.

"We don`t want people to get lucky when it comes to drive home safely; we want them to plan ahead and make sure that the individual behind the wheel is sober," says Birch, of MADD, a 26-year-old nonprofit organisation dedicated to fillet drunk drive, supporting victims of that specific crime, and preventing underage imbibing.

Underscoring the cogency of the comment from Birch and Adkins are sobering statistics on St. Saint Patrick`s Day traffic fatalities, proffered by the subject Highway Traffic Safety disposal (NHTSA), in Washington D.C., D.C. For 2005, the most recent year for NHTSA`s St. Saint Patrick`s Day imbibing and drive data, showed that there were 36 rider vehicle resident killed in crashes involving a driver or bike operator with a blood alcoholic beverage concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater. The aforementioned NHTSA fig represented 32 percentage of the 2005 St. Saint Patrick`s Day vehicular accident human death total.

The timing of St. Saint Patrick`s Day this year has possibly ominous deduction. "With St. Saint Patrick`s Day on a Sabbatum this year, there will be extra days for celebrating and that could translate into more potentiality DUI arrests and accidents," Birch warned. Picking up on that theme, Adkins said that "St. Patrick`s Day is always a deadly day on the roads, and there`s concern that this year could be worse than normal, given that the holiday falls on a Saturday."

Adkins believes it`s "imperative that people celebrate responsibly by designating a driver after drinking," and here`s one of the reasons why. "State highway safety agencies are stepping up enforcement this holiday. Those who choose to drive drunk will be arrested. No exceptions, no excuses," Adkins emphasizes.

There are alternatives if you drink and don`t have a designated driver. "If you don`t have a designated driver, take a cab home or consider public transportation," advises PCI`s Sam Sorich. "Use good common sense, under no circumstance should you drink and drive on St. Patrick`s Day, or any other day for that matter," Sorich cautions.

Speaking of words to live by on St. Patrick`s Day, Birch calls on party planners to "plan with safety in mind," and offers a final thought on the subject. "Those serving alcohol should remember to never provide alcohol to those under 21 and never over-serve adults," concludes Birch.

DUI
Driving while intoxicated is never a good idea no matter what day it is �" it can potentially harm innocent people and impact your auto insurance coverage. While insurance companies are not allowed to deny coverage to policyholders because of race, religion, residence, age or occupation �" they are allowed to cancel your policy for having your driver`s license suspended or being convicted of a crime, such as a DUI. That is something to think about before you pick up a pint of your favorite Irish beverage!

Insurance.com reminds everyone to play it safe this St. Patrick`s Day by designating a driver. You will not only be helping to keep yourself and your loved ones out of harms way, but you will be also helping to keep our roads safer this March 17th. If you are in the market for auto insurance or are thinking about switching auto insurance carriers, visit Insurance.com`s auto insurance comparison application. Here, you will be able to evaluate multiple rates from best-in-class insurance providers, helping you save time and money on your auto insurance.