The Jefferson police department will increase patrol March 14-17 with a special focus on drunk drivers and passengers not wearing seatbelts.
Jefferson police captain Heath Enns shared statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Nationally, during the St Patrick’s Day holiday in 2016 (the latest year for which numbers are available), 39 percent of all vehicle crash fatalities involved drunk drivers. In the hours between midnight and 6 am on march 18, 69 percent of all crash fatalities involved drunk drivers.
Enns encourages all drivers to plan ahead for a designated driver or someone to call for a ride home at the end of the night.
He also reminds all drivers to watch for pedestrians who have had too much to drink. Walking while intoxicated can also be deadly, as lack of attention to their surroundings could put pedestrians at risk of being struck by a vehicle.
