As the Washington Traffic Safety Commission announces the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” holiday campaign, drivers are urged to plan ahead.

As part of the campaign, extra officers will be canvassing roadways starting Wednesday, Nov. 21 through Jan. 1, 2013 throughout Skagit and Island counties searching for impaired drivers.

Lynn Ross spent more than $1,200 paying for the ignition interlock that he had to have installed on his Dodge truck as a result of a DUI conviction.

The device is about the size of a cell phone with a tube for breath samples. Like many in Island County, Ross, a Spokane Valley resident, had to blow into it every time he started his truck every day for 14 months. The truck would only start if there was no alcohol in his system.

Since January, ignition interlock drivers have to have a record of clean blows for the last four months of the restriction in order to get the device removed.

“This ensures that drivers demonstrate the ability to separate their drinking from their driving,” said Washington Traffic Safety Commission Director Darrin Grondel.

For more information, visit www.wtsc.wa.gov.