“Too many people think their actions don’t affect anybody else. They know it’s illegal. They know it’s wrong. But they do it anyway — they make decisions as if those statistics just can’t happen to them.”

St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne had those words to say this week when addressing drunken drivers, specifically in reference to the increased presence law enforcement agencies are taking in the build up to Labor Day.

The 20-day, high-visibility campaign, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” is a partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to curb impaired driving and save lives. It starts Thursday and runs through Sept. 7.

Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of driving drunk, coupled with checkpoints and increased officers on the road, aim to drastically reduce the toll of drunken driving.

It seems like common sense to every law-abiding driver, but, hopefully, for those who continue to pop bottles and press their luck on area roadways, they will either hold off this holiday stretch or get arrested before they have the chance to harm anyone beyond what they have already done to themselves.

The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office reported in 2013, nationwide, there were 10,076 people killed in drunken driving crashes, which amounted to near a third of all traffic fatalities in the country.

Thirty-eight percent of fatalities on Labor Day weekend that year involved drunken drivers, amounting to 161 lost lives. That means more than 13 dozen people died in completely preventable scenarios.

Unfortunately, Labor Day is a bad time for drunken drivers, who seem to hit the bottle extra hard.

More than a quarter of the fatalities that occurred on Labor Day weekend in 2013 involved drivers with a blood alcohol count near twice the legal limit.

These numbers show too many people don’t know when to say no. Please, if you’re going to drink this weekend and in the days ahead, don’t drive.