Lehigh Township's Regional DUI Task Force will be conducting a DUI checkpoint and two roving DUI patrols during the July 4 mobilization, which began Tuesday and continues through July 6.

During this time officers from Lehigh Township, Moore Township, Walnutport Borough, Bushkill Township, Colonial Regional, Nazareth Borough, Upper Nazareth Township, Slatebelt Regional, Stockertown Borough, Tatamy Borough, Northampton Borough, and Bangor Borough will be out checking for impaired drivers.The task force wants to remind drivers if they consume alcohol or take any drugs that impair their ability to drive, they will be arrested. The task force will also be looking for underage drinking and investigating furnishing alcohol to minors.Those who suspect they are following an impaired driver should dial 911 to report them. Those who suspect an underage drinking party should call Northampton County Dispatch Center at 610-317-0808, or Lehigh County Dispatch Center at 610-437-5252.To crack down on drunk driving this Fourth of July, Monroe County law enforcement will be out in full force, aggressively targeting those who put lives in danger. Detective Joseph Coddington strongly advises that "for everyone's sake, don't drink and drive or you will be arrested. The 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign means zero tolerance for drunk driving no excuses."In fatal crashes during the July Fourth period in 2013, more than one-fifth of involved drivers or motorcycle operators had BACs of 0.15 or higher almost twice the legal limit.Further NHTSA data also reveals that 35 percent of young drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 years old were driving drunk (BAC of 0.08 or higher) in fatal crashes over the July Fourth period in 2013.Motorcycle operators also had a very high percentage of alcohol-impaired driver fatal crashes.Drunken drivers are more common at night. Over the 2013 Fourth of July holiday, more than two-fifths (42 percent) of the drivers in nighttime fatal crashes from the hours of 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. were alcohol-impaired, as compared with 13 percent of drivers in fatal crashes during daytime hours.A DUI arrest can mean time in jail, loss of your license, and steep financial expenses (the average DUI costs about $10,000).