Texas Department of Transportation is starting a new campaign aimed at anyone heading out for a few drinks (or even one drink. The new campaign uses a new term, PASS, which stands for person appointed to stay sober.

The TDoT is starting its drunk driving campaign now just in time for the official start of summer. According to TDoT officials the short summer months see a huge influx of drunk driving arrests and accidents which they believe can be countered with an effective public education campaign.

While it is true that people tend to do more recreating during the summer months drunk driving is certainly not limited to any one particular season. Any time, any month of the year, someone can get behind the wheel of an automobile after a few drinks and believe (wrongly) that they are perfectly safe. But the fact is, after just one drink your ability to safely and effectively operate a motor vehicle is greatly impaired and your risk of having a serious, even deadly, vehicle collision sky rockets.

Drunk driving fatalities are second only to the number of deaths caused by distracted driving, although they had been number one for the previous five decades. Even now there is debate about whether or not distracted driving is actually any worse than getting behind the wheel drunk.

Your best bet, especially if you are driving in Texas is to take this warning seriously and find someone sober to drive you home. Even if you have to pay them for the ride.

“During the summer months we see an increase of drunk-driving fatalities, even though it’s one quarter of the year, a third of our fatalities happen during that timeframe,” TxDOT spokesman Val Lopez said.

“Even a small amount of alcohol can impair your ability to drive and make decisions,” Lopez said. “Your best option is not to drink at all if you’re going to drive.”