From mid-August through Labor Day, Glendale police, Los Angeles County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol officials will be out in force as part of the annual nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown on drunk driving. The crackdown, which will include high-visibility enforcement throughout Los Angeles County, will run from Aug. 16 through Sept. 2.

Avoid the 100 DUI Task Force will be diligently looking for drunk drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone caught driving drunk. Plans are in place for 64 DUI/driver’s license checkpoints, 173 local roving DUI saturation patrols, multi-agency strike teams, DUI warrant/probation sweeps and DUI court stings targeting suspended drivers who were ordered by the judge not to drive.

It is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. The latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underscore the serious nature of the nation’s continuing drunk driving epidemic.

Every year, about one third of all motor vehicle traffic deaths involve one or more drunk drivers or motorcycle operators. In 2011, 9,878 people died in crashes involving drunk drivers. That works out to approximately one drunk driving fatality every 53 minutes. In California, 774 died due to the crime of impaired driving.

During the Labor Day weekend in 2011, a total of 138 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving drivers or motorcycle riders with a .08% BAC or higher. Of those fatalities, 83% occurred during early evening and overnight, from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. In California, 11 people were killed during the holiday weekend involving a driver at a .08% BAC or higher.

Drunk driving takes a particularly heavy toll among young drivers. Among 18 to 34-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the 2011 Labor Day weekend, 42% were alcohol-impaired.

For more information, visit the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign headquarters at www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov. Avoid the 100 DUI Task Force funding is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who reminds everyone to report drunk drivers! Call 9-1-1.