If your Fourth of July celebrations include drinking, don't drive.

That's the message from the Contra Costa County Sherriff's department and other officials as we kick off the holiday weekend Friday.

The sheriff's department will be targeting suspected drunken drivers this July 4 weekend in its annual push to curb DUI-related crashes. 

The effort is part of a statewide collaboration between local police departments, sheriff's departments and the California Highway Patrol, according to sheriff's department spokesman Jimmy Lee.

All available highway patrol officers will be keeping an eye out on state highways and local roadways beginning at 6 p.m. Friday through midnight on Monday. A stronger police presence will be combined with sobriety checkpoints, driver's license checkpoints and "saturation patrols" that blanket DUI-related problem areas.

"Too many people still fail to understand that alcohol and driving don't mix," said Christopher Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety, in a statement. "Impaired driving is no accident, nor is it a victimless crime."

During the July 4 weekend last year, 30 people were killed and 363 injured in alcohol-related crashes statewide. In Contra Costa County, a total of seven people were injured in alcohol-related crashes, according to Lee. 

Violators can face jail time, driver's license suspension, insurance rate hikes, fines and thousands of dollars in attorneys fees.