Americans love to celebrate the Fourth of July with family, friends, food and fireworks, but too often alcohol turns the party into a tragedy, making this iconic holiday one of the most deadly days of the year on the nation’s roads.

That’s why this Fourth of July the Eastern Pike Regional Police Department is stepping up police presence throughout the local region as part of the ongoing “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement crackdown to catch and arrest impaired drivers who put themselves and others at risk.

“We will be out in force throughout this Independence Day, on the lookout for motorists who have had too much alcohol to be behind the wheel of a vehicle,” said Chief Chad Stewart. “Police will have zero tolerance for alcohol scofflaws who drink and drive this July 4th, putting themselves and everyone else on our roads at risk of life and limb.”

The latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, underscore the continuing toll drunk driving imposes on the nation. Impaired-driving crashes killed 9,878 people in 2011, accounting for 31% of the total traffic fatalities in the United States. That’s an average of one alcohol-impaired driving fatality every 53 minutes.