KING COUNTY, WA - Today, Public Health - Seattle & King County and other members of the King County Traffic Safety Coalition announced their plan to increase the number of officers on patrol during the Labor Day weekend. The officers will be patrolling and arresting intoxicated and dangerous drivers along Highway 99 and throughout King County.

"Too many people choose to commemorate holidays with a deadly mix of alcohol and driving," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "I encourage people to find safer ways to celebrate."

"Alcohol-related crashes are not 'accidents' because they are totally preventable," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County.

This weekend's Traffic Safety Patrols will include:

• the Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Seattle, and Tukwila Police Departments
• the Port of Seattle
• the Washington State Patrol (mainly patrolling interstate highways)

Highway 99 is the focus of the Traffic Safety Patrol because there are five times as many alcohol-related crashes on Highway 99, compared to all other state highways in King County.

Since 1999, there have been 1,897 stops for unsafe driving actions and 193 DUI arrests during Traffic Safety Patrols.

The King County Traffic Safety Coalition is chaired and staffed by Public Health-Seattle & King County and is comprised of the law enforcement agencies listed above, epidemiologists, representatives from the beverage industry, the Washington State Liquor Control Board, alcohol/drug prevention and treatment organizations, DUI victims' groups, traffic engineers and others.