A national program to raise awareness of the consequences resulting from driving under the influence will be in force this holiday weekend in Carson City.
According to statistics supplied by the sheriff's department, impaired driving kills someone in America every 30 minutes and nearly 50 people a day, and impaired driving fatalities are on the rise in America.
Sgt. Wade Penegor of the Carson City Sheriff's Department said the blood alcohol legal limit is due to drop to .08 percent around Sept. 23.
Penegor thinks people won't assume that means they can drink more until then.
"I really don't see that happening," Penegor said. "If you're drinking enough to get up to those levels, it's only a matter of time anyway."
Beginning today and running until Monday, special traffic-enforcement teams will weed out people driving under the influence.
They're expecting increased traffic over the weekend, which increases the odds for drunk drivers.
The special teams are working overtime and the entire Patrol Division will participate during routine activities.
To help raise awareness about the campaign Congress provided the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration $11 million to produce national advertisements in English and Spanish to coincide with the crackdown. These ads will run on national networks until July 13 and will target 21-34 year old males, who are the same demographic targeted by beer commercials.
"Be responsible. It's a party weekend and everybody likes to have a good time," Penegor said. " We want everyone to come home alive."
