The Suffolk Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit has partnered with the North Main Street Chick-fil-A to promote a sober-driving initiative, “A Happy Holiday is a Safe Holiday.”

In honor of December as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month, the second of several planned educational events tied to the promotion will take place today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the restaurant. The holidays bring joy in celebrations with family and friends, but they also bring a tragic increase in the incidence of impaired driving, officials said in announcing the event.

Alcohol-impaired motor vehicle accidents cost more than an estimated $37 billion nationwide annually, and recent statistics indicate that more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes — one every 51 minutes.

Restaurant patrons can visit the Suffolk Police Department’s “Drive Safe Booth” and get a Mothers Against Drunk Driving ribbon to display as they make the pledge to remain sober while operating a motor vehicle. The campaign is one of M.A.D.D.’s most visible and longest-running public awareness projects to reduce drunken-driving injuries and deaths. Chick-fil-A has also agreed to give everyone who attends a coupon towards their next purchase at the restaurant.

The Suffolk Police Department’s “Drive Safe Booth” will be easy to spot, as students from Lakeland High School have used their artistic talents to create a banner to bring further awareness of this campaign to the community.