Picayune Police officers will be looking for drivers suspected of driving while intoxicated from now until Jan. 3.

According to a press release from the department, drunk driving is one of the nation’s deadliest crimes. In 2008, about 11,773 people died in accidents that involved a drunk driver or motorcycle operator.

A person is considered to be driving while drunk when operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.

The release states that 21 percent of the 5,473 female drivers that were killed in vehicular accidents in 2008 had a BAC of ).08 or more.

Picayune’s Police Department will be working in conjunction with thousands of other law enforcement agencies across the nation from Dec. 16, to Jan. 3, 2010 as part of the Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest campaign.

“Make no mistake. Our message is simple. No matter who you are or what you drive, if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions. No excuses,” Capt. Chad Dorn said in the release.

The department will be out during that time frame conducting sobriety checkpoints at Jackson Landing Road, North and South Beech Street, U.S. Highway 11, Mississippi Highway 43 South and North, Memorial Boulevard, East and West Canal Street, and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The department also will employ saturation patrols and undercover officers to take drunk drivers off of the roads in an effort to save lives that might otherwise be lost, the release states.

Officers will be looking not only for impaired drivers but also for expired tags, child restraint violations, seat belt violations and improper equipment.

“Driving with a BAC of 0.08 or higher is illegal in every state. Yet we continue to see far too many people suffer debilitating injuries and loss of their loved ones as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop. To help ensure that happens the Picayune Police Department is dedicated to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever we find them,” Dorn said in the release.

“Drunk Driving is simply not worth the risk. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant,” Dorn said in the release. “Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, time away from work and dozens of other expenses. So don’t take the chance. Remember if you are over the limit, you are under arrest.”