Austin and Mower County are joining more than 300 law enforcement agencies working overtime this holiday season.

Starting today, more officers will patrol to watch for drunk drivers, along with other violations, in the Toward Zero Deaths campaign.

Austin Police Captain Dave McKichan explained every year around this time Toward Zero Deaths kicks off and will go through Jan. 2, 2016. Both the Austin Police Department and the Mower County Sheriff’s Department will have more staff on the roads to ensure safe travels.

McKichan said the departments want to be transparent about the TZD movement in hopes to prevent people from driving drunk in the first place. He said alcohol is more common during the holidays with many holiday parties and get-togethers, and people should plan ahead for these events so they don’t put themselves in the position to see the officers working or get in a crash due to alcohol.

“We want to have people plan designated drivers and be cognizant of how much they’re drinking,” he said.

Staff will be most prevalent on weekends, Thursdays through Saturdays, but will be enforced throughout the week as well. Funding for TZD comes from the state.