Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is asking those looking forward to the Labor Day weekend to celebrate responsibly and is reminding drivers to not operate a vehicle while impaired.

During the summer, there have been virtual and in-person events highlighting impaired driving prevention efforts by law enforcement during the annual National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which launched Aug. 18. NHTSA’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, long supported by MADD, helps fund increased impaired driving enforcement, sobriety checkpoints and anti-drunk driving advertising during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

No matter how you plan to celebrate the end of summer this year, make sure you plan it safely.

During the 2021 Labor Day holiday period, there were 531 crash fatalities nationwide. Of these 531 traffic crash fatalities, 41% (216) involved a drunk driver, and more than a quarter (27%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Among drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2021, 48% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher.

“We want our community members to understand that it’s our first priority to keep people safe, so we’re asking everyone to plan ahead if they know they’ll be out drinking,” said MADD California State Executive Director Pat Rillera. “The Saturation Saturday and Drive Sober campaigns are an awareness effort to get the message out that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives. Let’s make this a partnership with all drivers: help us protect the community and put an end to this senseless behavior,” she said.

Saturation Saturday events will include checkpoints, increased DUI patrols and other enforcement efforts aimed at preventing impaired driving and stopping those who make a wrong choice. MADD staff and volunteers will participate in law enforcement roll calls, checkpoints and other activities to reinforce the lifesaving importance of these traffic safety enforcement activities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sobriety checkpoints reduce drunk driving deaths by 20%. Support for equitable high-visibility traffic safety enforcement is one of the key elements of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, launched in 2006. MADD advocates funding for NHTSA’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over events every year in August and December, and the Click It or Ticket campaign in May.

According to NHTSA, 13,384 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2021 — that’s one person every 39 minutes. On average, more than 11,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes each year from 2017 to 2021. MADDis working together with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal; it’s a matter of life and death. As you head out to festivities during the end of summer and Labor Day weekend, remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

MADD recommends these intervention techniques to prevent drinking and driving:

— Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride service to get home safely.

— If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911.

— Do you have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.

No one should mix drinking and driving, and no one is immune to the effects of drinking. If you find yourself drunk and stranded with your vehicle, give your keys to a sober driver who can safely drive you home. Remind your friends to never get into a vehicle with a drunk driver.

If you have a friend who is about to drive after drinking, take away their keys and help them get home safely. Most importantly: Always have a plan before you head out for the evening. If you wait until after you’ve been drinking to figure out how to get from one place to the next, you will already be too impaired to make the right choice.

For more information on impaired driving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.