Get a little tipsy and decide to drive on this St. Patrick’s Day and it may end up costing you a lot of green.

This St. Patrick’s Day the cities of Manteca, Lodi and Stockton want to make sure their citizens celebrate safely.  Police officers will be out on the streets on special patrols designed to detect drunken driver today and tonight.  Stockton Police will also be out at special times during the rest of the week.

It costs an estimated $7,000 for your first drunken driving offense once the cost of the penalty, court costs, lost wages, increased insurance premiums, and impound fees are all tallied up.

The officers are part of the AVOID the San Joaquin 10, drunk driving detection and prevention program.  The program is paid for by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.  The purpose of the extra officers on patrol is to encourage those who are going to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day, to designate a driver for seek out an alternative way to get home.