The Fourth of July holiday is here – the beginning of a four-day weekend for some – and law enforcement agencies are participating in the statewide STOP-DWI High Visibility Engagement Campaign.

Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati said they will have extra checkpoints monitoring for impaired driving and other traffic violations, as well as more patrols on local lakes and the Hudson River, through Sunday.

According to Imperati, holiday weekends tend to be busier in terms of the number of calls they get.

He stressed the importance of having a sober driver on both land and water.

“You want everybody to get home safely. You don't want to injure loved ones in your family or yourself, and you don't want to injure others in our community. So, it's always good to always express extreme caution. Never drink and drive. And in today's world, there's no reason to drink and drive. You can always have a designated driver. You can get an uber. There's a lot of different venues that we can use, a lot of different initiatives we can use for everyone to get home safe and have a safe, happy, healthy, accident-free weekend,” Imperati said.

He is reminding drivers to always be aware of their surroundings.