St. Patrick's Day Revelers In Denver Among Nation's Worst: Study

DENVER, CO – As Coloradans prepare for the bar-crawls, parades and drinking bouts of St. Patrick's Day weekend, a new study ranks Denver among the Top 10 in the U.S. for spikes in reported crime on the notorious drinking holiday.

DigitalThirdCoast.com analyzed cities with "notable celebrations" and found out where people are "behaving worst," compared to a normal weekend in 2018. The company studied 2018 police reports, looking for tickets for disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and public urination.

Denver ranked fifth in the country for an increase in tickets over St. Patrick's day weekend, with a 13.8 percent increase of crime charges in 2018.

The top three U.S. cities with crime spikes on St. Patrick's Day weekend are:

• Savannah, GA: 32.4% increase
• Cincinnati, OH: 26.0% increase
• Cleveland, OH: 24.6% increase

In Colorado, it costs about $13,500 to deal with all the costs associated with a DUI, the Colorado Department of Transportation said last week. In 2018, Colorado law enforcement patrols on a special St. Patrick's Day weekend enforcement made 323 arrests statewide. In 2017, the number of arrests was 607.

Impaired driving, especially when legalized marijuana is combined with alcohol, makes the roads particularly dangerous over the holiday weekend.

"If you're going to pinch a friend for not wearing green this weekend, why not make a point to keep them from getting behind the wheel impaired?" said Darrell Lingk, director of the CDOT's Office of Transportation Safety in a statement last year. "It's no secret that for many alcohol is a major component of this holiday, but we hope people will plan a sober ride home before they go out and make responsible choices before putting themselves and others in danger."

CDOT is offering a free Lyft ride for people who sign up for the St. Patrick's Day 2019 Pledge:

"Whether consuming alcohol, cannabis, or any combination of the two, I pledge to always plan for a sober ride and to never drive impaired."

Find out how to take the pledge and sign up for a Lyft coupon here.

Related: Denver St. Patrick's Day Parade 2019

Related: St. Patrick's Day DUI Weekend: $13,500. Take The CDOT Pledge

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