LAFOURCHE PARISH- Deputies from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office plan to join local law enforcement agencies in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

The campaign runs Dec. 13 through Dec. 31. Authorities say the campaign is coordinated and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.

Authorities say deputies will be assigned to saturated patrol efforts to target impaired drivers and help keep motorists safe. There will be several checkpoints held in conjunction with the campaign through the month of December. The first checkpoint will be a seat belt checkpoint on Dec. 13.

During the seat belt checkpoints, authorities will be checking motorists for seat belt and safety seat violations, as well as other violations such as expired inspection tags. Authorities said during the DWI checkpoints, deputies will be looking for drivers who are possibly impaired while checking for other traffic safety issues, including by not limited to seat belt usage.

Lafourche Parish, according to authorities, is a "no refusal" parish meaning if a suspected drunk driver refuses a breathalyzer test, deputies will seek a search warrant to have that person's blood tested.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that drunk driving is a deadly epidemic that takes the lives of more than 10,000 people each year, on average. In Louisiana last year, authorities say 268 people were killed as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol.