Be Careful on This Green Holiday

Do not rely on the luck of the Irish if you drink and drive this St. Paddy’s Day.

Celebrating all things Irish has become one of the biggest drinking holidays in the country.

“Too many people are driving drunk and killing themselves or others on the road as a result,” said Harris Blackwood, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

In 2009, there were 103 crash deaths on St. Patrick’s Day. Of those crashes, more than a third involved alcohol-impaired drivers.

“We want people to celebrate, but whether you’re heading to your local Irish pub or to a big parade, you need to make sure you have a sober driver,” Blackwood said.

Georgia is also warning St. Patrick’s Day revelers that I-75, from Tennessee to the Florida line, will be teaming with officers and radar detectors looking for speeders.

It will be a “high visibility enforcement”  Friday from Ringgold in north Georgia to Lake Park in south Georgia and will cover the 350 miles of I-75 in between, said Katie Fallon, spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Consequences for speeding can be severe if you are designated a “super speeder,” meaning you are going 85 miles per hour or more. An additional fine of $200 went into effect in 2010.

Drunk drivers in Georgia will automatically go to jail.

Other consequences can include loss of a driver’s license, higher insurance rates and dozens of other unanticipated expenses ranging from attorney fees and court costs to car repairs and lost wages due to time off from work.

Drive Sober Georgia provides free sober ride programs. Available on both the Android and iPhone markets, the app provides a listing of free sober ride programs across the state It can be downloaded directly from your phone’s marketplace or by visiting www.drivesobergeorgia.com.