Don't test your luck by driving drunk – get a free ride on St. Patrick's Day
Go ahead, enjoy some green beer or Irish whiskey on St. Patrick's Day. Just don't test your luck by driving drunk.
To help keep roads safe, there will be extra patrols out this weekend. After all, St. Patrick's Day is the second busiest day for police in terms of DWI arrests.
State officials say there are about 4.6 DWI arrests per hour – second only to Labor Day with 4.9 arrests per hour.
And when it falls on a weekend, the number of arrests goes up. In 2012, it fell on a Saturday and there were 346 arrests. Last year, it was on a Thursday and there were 189 arrests.
If you get a DWI, you could lose your license for up to a year, get thousands of dollars in fees and even spend time in jail. Repeat offenders and those who are heavily intoxicated could have to take a breath test just to start their vehicle or face at least a year without a license.
Between 2011 and 2015, 462 people were killed in drunk driving-related crashes in Minnesota. In the last six years, five people have died on St. Patrick's Day.
But you can ride free
To help, Metro Transit in the Twin Cities is offering free rides from 6 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday. That's on all Metro Transit routes, thanks to a partnership with Miller Lite.
You don't need a coupon or anything. Just hop on and ride. You can get all the route details here.
Free rides will also be available on Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, SouthWest Transit and Anoka Transit routes.
