THP to hold St. Patrick's Day roadblock in Hardin County

March 17– The Tennessee Highway Patrol urges motorists to designate a sober driver and don’t depend on dumb luck today, St. Patrick’s Day.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Troopers will conduct more than 50 sobriety and driver license checkpoints across the state in an effort to find and remove impaired drivers from Tennessee roadways.

Officials announced that in Hardin County today, the THP will be looking for impaired drivers at a roadblock on Tenn. 226 in the vicinity of the Savannah-Hardin County Airport.

In Tennessee, three people were killed in three fatal crashes during the 2009 St. Patrick’s holiday, and two of those crashes involved alcohol.

"Whether you are meeting a few friends at the local establishment or restaurant after work or attending the neighborhood ethnic celebration, if you plan on using alcohol, never drive impaired," said Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell. "And never let your friends drive if you think they are impaired."

Safety Department statistics from 2003 to 2009 show that March 17 ranks fourth in average daily alcohol involved crashes.

During this period, approximately 33 percent of crashes that occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day involved alcohol, 11 percentage points higher than a typical early morning.

A driver convicted of DUI in Tennessee can face up to 48 hours in jail and the loss of driving privileges for up to a year for a first offense.

The associated costs of driving impaired also included attorney fees, court costs, reinstatement fees and higher insurance premiums.