Contact CU Independent Opinion Staff Writer Mackenzie Brecker at mabr2440@colorado.edu.
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On March 17, thousands of people will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the United States and, of course, Boulder is participating in the festivities. For the typical college student, St. Patrick’s Day is a day to skip class and day drink with your friends. Often the celebrations continue throughout the whole day into the night. However exciting and fun this day may be, it is also a day to take seriously. Unlike holidays such as New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, St. Patrick’s Day is often overlooked when discussing safety.
Whenever I go out on New Year’s Eve, I am always reminded to be safe and always find a sober driver. Whether it is from my parents, friends or even just the Internet, I am constantly being reminded to make smart decisions. But on St. Patrick’s Day, it seems as if people are more concerned with figuring out their plans than they are talking about safety.
On St. Patrick’s Day, about 75 percent of fatal car accidents are involved with a driver who is two times over the legal limit of alcohol consumption.
Clearly, the holiday has more consequences than we think, so it is important to take extra measures to ensure your safety. Finding a safe ride is probably one of the most important things you can do. Not only are you protecting yourself and your friends, but you are also reducing the risk of hurting someone if you decide that you are “probably OK to drive.” In case you get involved in a vehicular accident caused by a drunk driver, you may hire a car accident lawyer to help you in filing a claim.
With driving services such as Uber and Lyft, there are multiple options for people looking for rides. Also, CU Boulder students have the option of using CU Night Ride for free.
However, these companies do not seem to be taking this holiday as seriously as they should. To start, both Uber and Lyft do not have very many deals. This past weekend, Uber had an offer for Chicago. It was only for uberPOOL, but people were able to get a free ride for up to $30.
Lyft’s offers extend to many cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and many more. The offer is valid starting March 17 at 5 a.m. and ending March 18 at 5 a.m. However, in order to receive the $25 Lyft credit, your driver’s name has to be Pat, Patrick, Patricia or Patty, and this offer isn’t even valid in Boulder.
Even AAA is offering its Holiday Safe Ride Program in select states on St. Patrick’s Day, but not in Colorado. Considering Boulder is a pretty big city with a lot of students, there should be more options to encourage students and citizens to be safe this St. Patrick’s Day and prevent drunk driving. People will be drinking large amounts of alcohol, and they need to make smart decisions. Promotional codes and programs such as these travel around pretty quickly when college students get a hold of them, so it would be smart to extend offers to Boulder.
