'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' law enforcement campaign runs through Jan. 1

The head of the state's Governor's Office of Highway Safety is urging motorists to drive sober during the holidays.

"This has been a rough year in Georgia for traffic fatalities and impaired driving," agency director Harris Blackwood said in a news release.

In 2014, 165 people died, and 5,250 were injured in 8,931 alcohol-related crashes on Georgia roadways, according to a state GOHS release.

And during the Christmas holiday reporting period alone last year, 14 people died on Georgia roadways. The reporting period was from 6 p.m. Dec. 24 to Dec. 28.

"We want people to make it to their family and friends safely so they can celebrate the holiday season," Blackwood said. "That's why we're warning people who will be out celebrating that Georgia is a zero tolerance state.

"If caught driving impaired, you will not get a warning. You will be arrested and you will go to jail," he said.

This year's holiday enforcement effort across the state is part of the national "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign. The campaign ends Jan. 1.

Nationwide, 10,076 people were killed in crashes involving a drunken driver in 2013 - including 733 people killed in crashes in December alone involving a driver with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher, the release said. Of those, 23 people died on Christmas Day.

In an effort to curb alcohol-related deaths, Georgia offers a free smartphone app for Apple and Android devices that lists both paid and free sober ride programs across the state. The "Drive Sober App" can be found in iTunes. Free rides home also are available through Checker Cab and AAA's Tow To Go from Christmas Eve through Jan. 2, according to the release.

In addition, motorists are urged to remain alert during the holidays for impaired drivers and encouraged to report drunken drivers by calling 911 or dialing *GSP on their cell phone, which connects a caller to the nearest state patrol post, the release said.

"We've got to work together to make our roads safer during the holidays and year-round," Blackwood said. "So be sure to find a sober ride home ahead of time, program taxi numbers into your phone or be the designated driver yourself."

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 1:25 PM with the headline "'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' law enforcement campaign runs through Jan. 1 ."