While the St. Paddy’s Day parade incorporates a range of traditional Irish forms of entertainment like pipe bands or Irish dancing, one of the major draws is of course the Irish pubs!
It’s easy to get caught up in the festivities and make a daring decision to drive while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol. All too often, DUI lawyers see cases where your average everyday American has been charged with a DUI or DWI during the celebrations. When sober, it’s all too easy for people to recognize the dangers drunk driving can have, not only to others but to themselves too. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
We want to see everyone enjoying St. Paddy’s Day responsibly, which is why we put together a few recommendations, so you can enjoy this event to the fullest extent!
• If you’re going out in a group and of course if someone’s willing to, designate a driver for the ride home.
• Arrange for a cab to pick you up (save a few numbers into your phone before going out).
• Drink responsibly and know your limits! Make sure to take it slow and eat properly prior to hitting the bottle.
• Arrange a ride in advance via friends or family.
If you’re going to be drinking at all, it’s probably best not to take a car, just in case you do give in to temptation and drive home. Without transport, it takes the decision out of your hands and forces you to use one of the alternate methods above. We personally don’t condone drunk driving, but if the worst case scenario does happen, then it’s best to be prepared.
• Have all the correct documentation on hand and be courteous at all times.
• Don’t give the police any reason to pull you over. By this we mean, no busted lights of the car or anything not working properly that would lead an officer to pull you over.
• Being a major event, expect that the police will be out in full force. Take the back roads home and avoid any unnecessary police checkpoints.
• Don’t take any of the sobriety tests offered by the police, you are not legally obliged to do so! The field tests used by officers are notoriously inaccurate and even if your results show that you’re under the legal limit, you can still be charged with a DWI.
As always, if you run into any difficulties, it’s always best to contact us before giving the police any information relating to your DUI or DWI. They only need your basic information, for anything else you have the right to a DUI attorney being present. Have a great St Patrick’s Day, enjoy yourselves and needless to say, be safe! Follow the above information and hopefully you won’t need the ‘luck of the Irish’!
Kevin M. Tighe
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