The following is a joint op-ed by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) and MADD National President Glynn Birch:

The time between now and New Year's is one of the deadliest and most dangerous times on America's roadways due to an increase in impaired driving.  New estimates out this week show that nationally, more than 500 people will likely be killed on our nation's roadways by a drunk driver this holiday season.  That's 500 families whose lives will be forever changed by a preventable tragedy.

With $3.7 million of special funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety for this holiday season, the California Highway Patrol and a coalition of local law enforcement agencies are working diligently to reduce the number of drunk driving deaths and injuries on California's roads through strong enforcement.  Throughout California, law enforcement will be out in full force to find and arrest drunk drivers. The California Department of Transportation is joining in with messages for motorists on their billboards.

This effort is building upon the national crackdown: Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.  led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). 

While we have made great strides to reduce the threat of drunk driving, progress has stalled in recent years. In California, fatalities involving a drunk driver (those with an illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or above) have decreased 45 percent since 1982. However, since 2000, drunk driving fatalities have increased 27 percent.  More than 1,200 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2005.  Two steps forward, one step back.

Fortunately, there is good news.  Years of work in this area have led us to develop a proven model that decreases the number of deaths due to drunk driving through tougher laws, strong enforcement, and strict sentencing for offenders.

We can significantly reduce the number of drunk driving deaths and injuries by focusing on strong enforcement this holiday season.

The federal government is dedicating $29 million a year starting this year and for the next three years to publicize impaired driving and safety belt mobilizations.  The crackdown uses a proven model of paid advertising and aggressive public education efforts to get the word out to potential offenders that if they drive drunk, they will be arrested.  Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. delivers on the promise of arrest by working with law enforcement to plan highly visible and publicized enforcement activities such as sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols to find and arrest, and ultimately deter, drunk drivers.

These efforts are proven to save lives and prevent injuries: research has shown that highly publicized, highly visible, and frequent sobriety checkpoints reduce fatal alcohol-related crashes by up to 24 percent.  They not only detect offenders who drive drunk, but also serve as a powerful deterrent - 80 percent of Americans agree that sobriety checkpoints would discourage them from drinking and driving.

Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. is one component of MADD's four-part plan to eliminate drunk driving in the United States.  The Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving combines intensive, high visibility law enforcement such as the holiday enforcement crackdown with three additional elements - the full implementation of current alcohol ignition interlock technologies, the exploration of advanced vehicle technologies, and the mobilization of grassroots support - to eliminate drunk driving once and for all.

From across the country and on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., we are hearing from our constituents and our colleagues that they will no longer tolerate drunk driving.  An overwhelming number of Americans agree that drunk driving must be eliminated and that strong enforcement is one way to achieve this goal.

The holiday crackdown on drunk driving is the first step forward in our efforts to ultimately eliminate the threat of drunk driving altogether, here in California and across the country.  We applaud the law enforcement officers who will be out in full force cracking down on drunk drivers to save lives and ensure safer roads.  We encourage everyone to do their part to keep America's roads safe and secure this holiday season. 

Glynn Birch                                                                       Lucille Roybal-Allard
National President, MADD                                            Representative, CA-34

Glynn Birch began volunteering for Mothers Against Drunk Driving after the drunk driving death of his son, Courtney, in 1988. Glynn was elected National President of MADD in 2005.

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard is a member of the Appropriations Committee and is a strong opponent of underage drinking and was the author on the federal legislation, Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act.