By Hector Gonzalez
Special to The Lookout

December 18, 2015 -- If you're planning to enjoy dinner in the beach city this weekend you may want to refrain from that glass of wine, as Santa Monica police will be out to bust DUI drivers.

A state safety program that kicks funds to local police jurisdications to combat drunk driving is paying for Saturday night's scheduled sobriety and driver's license check point, at an undisclosed location somewhere in the City, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

From now through the New Year's Day holiday police agencies across the state along with the California Highway Patrol will be cracking down on DUI driving. CHP officials, during “maximum enforcement” periods, put extra officers on patrol for the holidays.

On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a nationwide campaign, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” aimed at getting drunk drivers off the road this holiday season.

At a news conference in Washington, D.C., NHTSA officials also unveiled a new ad that will run in movie theaters before showings of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

“We hope the millions of Americans who will be on the road over the holidays will make the safe choice not to drink and drive,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Across the country, local law enforcement officers will be on the roads, protecting all of us from the risk of drunk driving.”

Officials also released new data showing DUI-related traffic deaths fell by 1 percent in 2014, compared to 2013.

California spent more than $98 million on highway safety programs in 2013, including more than $24 million on grants to police agencies for enhanced traffic enforcement programs like DUI checkpoints, said a recent the State Office of Traffic Safety report.

Even so, traffic crashes continued to kill more Californians. Fatalities increased that year, from 2,966 in 2012 to 3,000 in 2013, according to the same report.

In California, drunk driving resulted in the deaths of 867 people and more than 23,000 serious injuries in 2013.

For the nation in 2013, blood-alcohol content was reported in 72 percent of drivers killed in traffic crashes, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In Santa Monica, police continue to act on statistics showing the DUI checkpoints do have a deterring effect and do help reduce DUI-related crashes.

“Research shows that accidents involving impaired drivers can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized, enforcement checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely,” said SMPD spokesman Sgt. Rudy Camarena. “Nearly 90 percent of California drivers approve of DUI checkpoints.”

Local officers will be randomly stopping drivers and looking for “objective” signs of alcohol or drug use. Specially trained drug-recognition officers will join the operation.

Police also will be checking to make sure drivers have valid driver's licenses.