COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Several law agencies around central Ohio will be increasing patrols to crack down on OVI during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

The Franklin County DUI Task Force announced it would be operating saturation patrols throughout the county, beginning Thursday and continuing through the weekend.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced an OVI checkpoint along US 40 in Madison County between 10pm and midnight tonight.

“Based on provisional data, there were 381 OVI related fatal crashes in which 415 people were killed last year in Ohio,” Lieutenant J.D. Pyles commander of the West Jefferson Post, said.  “State troopers make on average 25,000 OVI arrests each year in an attempt to combat these dangerous drivers.  OVI checkpoints are designed to not only deter impaired driving but to proactively remove these dangerous drivers from our roadways.”

Troopers are also partnering with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Pataskala and Reynoldsburg Police Departments for a multi-agency saturation patrol beginning Friday to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day and the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Law enforcement officials remind motorists to designate a driver if they plan to consume alcohol and always wear their safety belt.