The San Francisco Police Department is very eager to inform that they will be out in force with DUI checkpoints and patrols for St. Patrick’s Day, because well-publicized checkpoints do indeed cut down on drunk driving.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Are you drinking yet? It’s fine if you are! We’ve been jobbed out of a proper St. Patrick’s Day the last two years (2020 was particularly awful), plus March Madness starts today, so day drinking and nighttime blacking out is totally acceptable today.

But please do not drive intoxicated, not just because of the danger you are posing to others, but also because as KRON-4 reports, SFPD will be out in force to arrest your ass for drunk driving.

They telegraph this announcement in advance every year (the enhanced patrols and checkpoints go from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m.), because they say they have data showing that announcing that they’re doing checkpoints actually does reduce drunk driving.

“Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized DUI checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely,” SFPD says in their annual St. Patrick’s Day DUI press release.

“Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.,” the release adds.

St. Patrick's Day is not the holiday with the most drunk driving, and it is actually not even in the top five. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, that distinction belongs to Memorial Day, followed by Labor Day, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. But St. Patrick’s Day is still pretty bad, as KSWB reports that “In 2021, CHP officers arrested more than 200 drivers on St. Patrick’s Day with three deaths and 76 injuries reported from DUI-related incidents.”

So have your fun, but take Muni or a Lyft, people!

Related: Alleged Excelsior DUI Crash Injures Four, Demolishes Bus Shelter [SFist]

Image: SFPD via Twitter