Do Plenty-O-Planning for Safe St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations

By Zane T. Cagle | March 10, 2017 | Car Accidents, Drunk Driving, Featured, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death

Super Important–Plan Your Ride Home

St. Patrick’s Day is always a good time in St. Louis! Whether you are going to the parades, the run, the dinner or just going to your local Irish bar—make sure you plan a safe, sober way home. Safety planning is not usually the most fun part of the holiday, but it may end up being the most important thing you do.

Celebrating With Friends- Irish or Not!!

Whether you are Irish or not, we all celebrate St Patrick’s Day with friends in St. Louis !! Planning how you and your friends will get home Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights is key to everyone having a safe weekend and avoiding car crashes.

Drunk driving crashes increase over the weekends during holiday weekends such as St. Patrick’s Day or Mardi Gras. Night hours are the most common times for crashes. As 2016 may go down as one of the worst years for drunk-driving fatalities, you can personally make an impact on that statistic by Not drinking and driving. On average, 26 people a day were killed in DUI accidents in the U.S. in 2016.

The most common mistake is when drivers climb behind the wheel and later reason, ” I didn’t think I was that intoxicated”.

Drunk driving deaths increased by 300 from 2015 to 2016, making 2016 the most deadly in 50 years.

Don’t drink and drive.

Parade/ Run

The St. Patrick’s Parade is beginning at Noon on Saturday, March 11. The five-mile run is the 39th Annual Run and begins at 9 a.m. Therefore, if you are traveling to downtown St. Louis, you will want to plan parking and a safe way home. Considering there will literally be 1,000’s of people downtown beginning early Saturday morning, you may want to park outside of downtown and ride the Metrolink downtown.

The run begins at Ballpark Village and there will be food and alcohol served at just about every restaurant and bar in the downtown St Louis area. Enjoy the celebration and know how you are getting home!

General Rule to follow–If You’ve Been Drinking—Do Not Climb Behind the Wheel

Why use such a severe general rule? Pretty simple–we don’t make good decisions when we drink. Thus, the phrase, “get drunk and make bad decisions”. Whatever “bad” decisions that may turn out to be a good time, drinking and driving never has a good outcome.

Several things can happen when you drink and drive—the minimum, a DUI citation. While that is a huge ordeal and can change your life, it is the minimum problem you have if you hit someone while under the influence. A drunk driving crash may cost you your life or the life of someone else. Realistically, loss of life or serious injuries are far more traumatizing for everyone involved and will make a DUI citation look like a small parking ticket. Being responsible for the loss of someone else’s life, ruins the lives of many.

Safety Preaching…….

We do a lot of safety preaching before holiday weekends and it’s not because we fail to celebrate and consume—quite the contrary. We never preach that you should not consume and have a tremendous time celebrating. But, we do advocate that you plan in advance for your own safety and others. Drunk driving crashes are 100 percent preventable. Climbing behind the wheel after driving is the definition of “negligent action”. Choosing to drive after you’ve been drinking is just that, a choice. Driving under the influence causes drivers to violate rules of the road and violating rules of the road causes crashes.

All of us who climb in vehicles place our trust in other drivers to follow the rules of the road and keep one another safe. It is dangerous enough to be on the roadways in the evenings this weekend, please don’t add to the problem by being an impaired driver.

It is just too easy to arrange a ride anymore in the greater St. Louis area. There is the Metrolink, numerous cab companies and of course, Uber. So, you don’t always have to plan on a designated driver if you are going to use one of these alternative transportation methods. Just make a plan on which one you are going to use!!

Motor vehicle Crashes

If you are involved in a motor vehicle crash and are injured, you will need legal representation. Our attorneys represent the injured and we know the complications following an injury incident.

Call us at (314) 276-1681

About The Author

Zane T. Cagle

Zane T. Cagle is the founding president and lead trial attorney at The Cagle Law Firm. With a strong dedication to his clients, he has built a reputation for his tenacious representation in personal injury cases, ensuring each client's unique story is heard. Areas of Practice: Personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death. Bar Admissions: Supreme Court of Missouri, Illinois & Kentucky. Superior Court of U.S. Virgin Islands Education: Washington University School of Law. Awards: Super Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40 by The National Trial Lawyers Association, 10 Best in Missouri for Customer Satisfaction.

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