WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Police will begin an unprecedented crackdown on drunk driving nationally Friday, starting a full week before the three-day July Fourth holiday.

More than 120 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes over a two-day Independence Day holiday period in 2001, the latest government figures show. But traffic deaths spike when holidays fall on three-day weekends.

To counter this, traffic safety authorities are relying on a 17-day law enforcement campaign beginning well ahead of the holiday.

The stepped up effort to combat drunk driving is part of the Bush administration's goal of reducing highway deaths, which hit 42,850 in 2002.

"Last year, 18,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes," said Wendy Hamilton, president of the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "It's the third year in a row that fatalities have gone up. That's unacceptable. We know that this is a problem that can be solved."

Beginning Friday, state and local police plan to be out in greater numbers looking for drunk drivers, authorities said. The coordinated 17-day initiative is unprecedented in duration.

"We're putting drunk drivers on notice: If we catch you drinking and driving, we will arrest and prosecute you," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in a statement.

Alcohol-related crashes are cut by 18 to 24 percent when police set up sobriety checkpoints, safety figures show. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia permit them.

Where they are not allowed, police may concentrate patrols in specific areas to identify traffic violations often related to impaired driving, like speeding.

Also, the Transportation Department is spending $11 million on a television advertising initiative to warn motorists about drinking and driving.

The 30-second spots that began June 20 target men between 21 and 34, the group most likely to drive drunk.

[Return to News Page]