We're toasting the rodeo right now ... and St. Patrick's day is around the corner ... but some people get behind the wheel after celebrating a little too much.
Because of that, local law enforcement officials will be cracking down on impaired and drunken driving during March.
There’s funding for extra officers for the initiative.
Houston PD Capt. Kenneth Campbell says it's a chronic, and too often tragic, problem.
ThHPD is working with the Harris County DA’s office and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for the month-long-plus effort.
Campbell says it's a matter of both enforcement and prevention -- especially this time of year.
He said that last year, HPD made 4,000 DWI arrests and handled 1,400 DWI-related car crashes.
MADD’s Houston office has notes that Harris County has been called "the DWI Capital of America."
In announcing the effort during a news conference Thursday, HPD displayed two vehicles damaged in DWI-related crashes -- as a visual reminder of how serious driving while impaired can be.