New Mexico Cracking Down on Drunken Drivers

New Mexico authorities will be cracking down on drunken drivers throughout the month of December.

State police issued the warning this week, saying sobriety checkpoints will be set up around the state. Officers also will be asking for driver’s licenses, vehicle registration cards and proof of insurance at the checkpoints.

They say it’s an effort to reduce alcohol-related fatalities on New Mexico roadways.

Data collected and compiled by the state Department of Transportation and the University of New Mexico shows there were 74 alcohol-related fatalities from January through October. That’s about half of what it was during the same period the previous year.

So far, January and May marked the months with the highest number of alcohol-related traffic deaths, at 12 each.

The data is used to help track fatalities and injuries caused by drunk drivers, giving authorities a better understanding of where such crashes are happening so they can focus their anti-DWI initiatives.