DUI enforcement efforts being beefed-up for holiday weekend

(Harrisburg) -- DUI enforcement efforts are being beefed-up across the midstate during the holiday weekend.

Police departments are going to be conducting more DUI patrols and checkpoints over the next few days as part of the national "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign.

Stephen Erni is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania DUI Association.

He says while Thanksgiving is typically the deadliest holiday for drunken driving, Independence Day is high on the list.

"We do, in fact, think that the July 4th holiday will probably be the third or fourth-deadliest holiday for the year," Erni says.

He says anti-DUI advocates are finding some success by frequently repeating their reminders that driving and alcohol shouldn't mix.

State statistics show 271 drunken drivers were killed on the commonwealth's roadways last year

PennDOT says alcohol-related fatalities in Pennsylvania are at their lowest level in five years.