Memorial Day weekend is time to promote safety

This is the Memorial Day weekend -- the unofficial start of summer.

For many people, it's a long weekend spent with friends and family -- a time for picnics, parties and road trips.

For many state and local police officers, it's a long weekend spent working -- manning sobriety checkpoints and patrolling highways and local streets.

They are looking for people driving under the influence -- hoping to find them before there's an accident.

There's a good reason for the beefed-up enforcement.

Memorial Day weekend is one of the most dangerous holidays -- right behind the Thanksgiving holiday -- when it comes to DUI-related accidents and arrests.

That's why police are actively looking for folks who have a few drinks -- pop a few pills -- do a few lines -- smoke a few blunts -- then get behind the wheel or hop on the motorcycle.

Police aren't party-poopers. They just want to keep us alive -- and healthy.

Last year, there were nearly 500 crashes involving impaired drivers over this travel period. Nineteen people died.

So enjoy the holiday weekend.

But remember, if you drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you could be caught.

You could hurt yourself or someone else.

You could die -- or kill someone else.

And if that isn't a sobering thought -- nothing is.