Authorities plan summer crackdown on drunk drivers

DETROIT (AP) — Law enforcement authorities in Michigan are encouraging the use of designated drivers amid a summertime crackdown on drunken driving.

Officers from police departments, sheriff’s offices and the Michigan State Police will step up drunken driving enforcement stateside during the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” effort.

The campaign encourages people to “get home safe.”

A key period for the enforcement effort is around the Fourth of July holiday.

Last year, 292 motorists were arrested for drunken driving during that time.

In 2015, Michigan alcohol-involved traffic deaths were up 28 percent from 2014, from 107 to 138.

Drug-involved fatal crashes were up 19 percent, from 150 to 179 in 2015.