Starting Aug. 20 and continuing through Labor Day (Sept. 7), deputies of the Leavenworth County Sheriffs Office will join other local and state police agencies across Kansas in a crackdown aimed at removing drunk and other impaired drivers from roadways during You Drink. You Drive. You Lose.

It is illegal to drive while impaired, yet, in 2018, one person was killed in a drunk driving crash every 50 minutes in the United States.

Driving after consuming alcohol or any other potentially impairing substance is a choice you make.

“The You Drink. You Drive. You Lose enforcement campaign is intended to remind drivers: to have a sober driver lined up BEFORE you drink alcohol away from home,” Sheriff Andy Dedeke said in a release. “Or take a sober ride to and from the location. Remember, this is your decision.”

Dedeke reminds residents that before they take a new prescription medication, they should check their medications for driving warnings.

More and more in Kansas, DUI arrests are occurring during daytime hours, largely due to the side effects of prescription drugs.

Kansas ignition interlock laws require that any driver convicted of driving under the influence must install an ignition interlock device, including an electronic log device, on every vehicle they own or which is registered to them.