(RALEIGH) -- After a deadly week leading up to the holiday weekend, the State Highway Patrol is stepping up its efforts to keep the highways safe. Don Nail of the state DOT says patrols will be stepped up during "Booze It and Lose It: Operation Firecracker."

"When folks are out celebrating the independence of our nation, people start drinking and a lot of times, unfortunately, they get behind the wheel of a vehicle, and that's what we're trying to draw attention to and make sure that folks make other arrangements," he said.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, more than 1,200 N.C. motorists were charged with driving while impaired during last year's Booze It and Lose It campaign.