MARYSVILLE — Are you ready for football?
The Super Bowl means parties with chili and beer for many.
It also can mean drunken driving. The Washington State Patrol will mount a defense of its own, with extra troopers on the roads today.
Officials are less concerned about the outcome of the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints then they are about drivers staying sober to get safely to and from game-day parties, trooper Keith Leary said.
“We know most parties will include alcohol. This means identifying a driver who has not been drinking,” Leary said.
In recent weeks, state officials have seen an increase in daytime drunken driving, Leary said.
If people plan to drink alcohol, it’s best to plan ahead, get a ride or call a taxi, he said. The alternative is possibly facing criminal charges or causing serious injury or death.
Troopers arrested eight people for investigation of drunken driving in Snohomish County on Super Bowl Sunday 2009. Statewide, 73 arrests were made.
The state patrol responded to one fatality on Super Sunday last year, in Eastern Washington, Leary said. They’re hoping to avoid tragedy this year.
“Our main goal this weekend is to make sure everyone thinks as though this were another holiday,” he said.
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