FHP adding patrols for St.Patrick's Day

On Friday, Florida Highway Patrol warned drivers ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

Nationally, 60 people lost their lives in drunk driving crashes over the holiday period in 2016.

Truck driver Gerald Albert told Action News Jax, he’d be spending St.Patrick’s Day working instead of attending celebrations.

Albert said he notices more drunk driving around all holidays, but the St.Patrick’s Day is one of the worst.

“They’re out on the road trying to get home or wherever they’re going. They think they can handle it, and mot of them can’t,” Albert explained.

The most recent report from Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shows 40 fatal crashes in Duval in 2016 involved alcohol.

The same year the report shows only four alcohol-involved fatal crashes in St.Johns County and three in Nassau.

FHP added patrols to cut down on crashes.

“We’re assigning a squad that’s specifically designated to get DUI drivers off of our highways. This is in addition to, supplementing our road coverage we currently have and the DUI officers we currently have,”  Sgt. Dylan Bryan said.

AAA is offering their Tow to Go service over the weekend. Call (855) 2-TOW-2-GO or (855) 286-9246.

Cox Media Group