South Lake Tahoe Police Department is one of many law enforcement agencies across the U.S. that is planning to actively search for and arrest drunken drivers from Dec. 18 to Jan. 3.

As part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement campaign period police, sheriff’s departments and the CHP will be deploying DUI checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols during that time. South Lake Tahoe officers will be conducting a DUI checkpoint on Dec. 21 from 6-pm toDec. 22 at 2am, in addition to having nine roving DUI saturation patrols starting Dec. 5. The DUI saturation patrols will be operating from 7pm-2am.

In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in crashes involving a drunken driver, according to officers. In December 2013, there were 733 people killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. Twenty-three of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day. California had 98 deaths and another 1,852 injured in alcohol involved collisions in December 2013.

South Lake Tahoe officer suggest these tips to stay safe:

·       Plan a safe way to get home before you attend the party. Alcohol impairs judgment, as well as reaction time. If you’re impaired you’re more likely to choose to drive drunk.

·       Designate a sober driver; take public transportation, a car service, or a call a sober friend of family member to get home.

·       Walking while impaired can be just as dangerous as drunken driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.

·       If you see someone you think is about to drive while impaired, take his or her keys and help the person get home safely.