The luck of the Irish won't protect people driving drunk tonight.
State and local police plan to be out in force to enforce laws against drunken drivers on St. Patrick's Day, a jovial holiday that law officers and highway safety officials have come to dread.
"Over the past few years, St. Patrick's Day has really become quite a deadly holiday," the State Police superintendent, Col. W. Steve Flaherty, said at a news conference yesterday at Siné pub in Richmond's Shockoe Slip.
Flaherty, who joked about his Irish heritage and sober message, appeared with representatives of AAA Mid-Atlantic in urging St. Patrick's Day revelers to drink in moderation, plan ahead with a designated driver, and don't get behind the wheel if they've been drinking.
"Let's not let a couple of pints lead to a traditional Irish wake," said AAA spokeswoman Martha Meade. "If you plan to drink, don't plan to drive."
Richmond police have stepped up patrols for drunken drivers since Thursday because of weekend St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Last year, they said they made 654 drunken-driving arrests during a comparable holiday period.
Siné, a popular Irish pub on East Cary Street, drew thousands to its 10th annual St. Patrick's Day festival on Saturday. The pub's management stands fully behind the police's tough message on drunken driving.
"Obviously, we want to see people come in and have a good time, but we also want to see people are responsible," said Bob McNulty, the pub's general manager. "Have a good time within reason and get home safe."
Law-enforcement officials are trying to build on some positive trends. Virginia recorded 292 alcohol-related fatalities during the first 10 months of 2008, compared with 320 in the first 10 months of 2007.
The state's total number of traffic fatalities fell from 1,021 in 2007 to 821 in 2008, a record low in more than 40 years of tracking highway deaths.
Last year, 71 drivers were involved in 45 alcohol-related crashes on St. Patrick's Day in Virginia, most of them in Richmond, Fairfax County and Smyth County. About two-thirds of the drivers, or 65 percent, had been drinking.
In comparison, Virginia recorded 49 alcohol-related crashes involving 77 drivers on the holiday in 2007.
Of those drivers, 62 percent had been drinking. The jurisdictions with the most alcohol-related crashes that year were Fairfax County, Hampton and Portsmouth.
Nationally, 327 people have been killed in alcohol-related crashes over the St. Patrick's Day holiday over the past five years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's about 38 percent of all traffic fatalities over the holiday in that period. One person was killed in an alcohol-related crash on March 17, 2007, in Virginia. Last year, the state recorded no alcohol-related fatal crashes on St. Patrick's Day.
Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or mmartz@timesdispatch.com.
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