Patrols beefed up for St. Patrick's Day weekend

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WTRF) - St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year, and when that happens, it often means even more people are out celebrating the holiday than usual.

At the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Belmont County, they said they will use federal overtime dollars to place more patrols out on the roads to keep people safe.

The primary focus will be impaired drivers.

But they said they do encourage people to enjoy the holiday.

OSHP Post Commander, Lt. James Faunda said, "But they need to be smart about it. They need to have a designated driver. And that designated driver isn't somebody who can have one or two drinks and then stop. You have no drinks that night. And you are the responsible one to get people to and from the festivities safely."

Lt. Faunda said in 2017, there were more than 14,000 crashes in Ohio with drivers who were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The St. Clairsville Post alone made 422 impaired-driving arrests last year that averaged out to more than one each day of the year.