Holiday DUI patrols begin tonight, last through New Year's Eve

Whether your favorite source of holiday cheer is eggnog, Christmas trees or -- God forbid -- snow, if you're planning to get into the spirit of the season, you might want to consider abandoning your sleigh and taking an Uber (or the light rail!).

That's good advice any time of year, but especially good today, as police agencies across King county begin a campaign of extra DUI patrols to run through Jan. 1. Twenty-nine police agencies, including Seattle PD, and the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board have agreed to the patrols, which are supported by the King County Target Zero Task Force.

Washington Traffic Safety Commission director Darrin Grondel said in a press release issued Thursday that his organization was concerned by the increasing role of drugs in traffic deaths. Citing a map released by the commission tracking all DUI crashes in 2015, Grondel claimed that so-called "polydrug" drivers outnumbered single-substance drivers three-to-one.

"We are alarmed at recent increases in traffic deaths involving DUI, especially among drivers who test positive for two or more drugs, or both alcohol and drugs," Grondel said.

According to data compiled by the commission, fatal crashes involving drivers who tested positive for two or more drugs began at 82 in 2011 and rose each year to 146 in 2015. During the same period, fatal crashes with drivers who tested above the legal limit for alcohol alone fell from 82 to 51, and crashes where drivers tested positive for one drug or a blood alcohol level below the legal limit remained relatively stable, from 49 to 51.