Western Springs Police Increase Patrols for St. Patrick's Day Weekend

If you’re going to drink this St. Patrick’s Day, do it safely, says the Western Springs Police Department.

Officers will be increasing safety patrol efforts from Thursday through Sunday this week to help combat alcohol-related crashes.

Do your part to help keep the roads safe:

• Designate a sober driver if you plan on going out to drink.
• Drink responsibly, whether you choose to imbibe at home or somewhere in the community.
• Plan how to get home safely before you start drinking.

The department also offered the following statistics:

• Every 51 minutes, on average, someone in the U.S. is killed in a drunken driving crash.
• Most of those crashes involve drivers with blood alcohol levels nearly twice the legal limit of .08.
• St. Patrick’s Day weekend can be particularly deadly: More than 700 people died in the U.S. in alcohol-related crashes during those days between 2006 and 2010.