KITSAP COUNTY — Law enforcement agencies across the state, including those in Kitsap County, are deploying extra patrols aimed at getting DUI drivers off the roads over this holiday season from Dec. 15 to Jan. 1.

In Kitsap County, the Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Naval Base Kitsap, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Suquamish police departments, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol will be teaming up and participating in the DUI campaign with the support of the Kitsap County Traffic Safety Task Force.

Darrin Grondel, Washington State Traffic Safety Commission director, said his agency and law enforcement organizations are alarmed at recent increases in traffic deaths involving DUI, especially among drivers who test positive for two or more drugs, or both alcohol and drugs.

“Our agency is charged with examining every detail of every deadly crash. We look at this data, we have to wonder why we are seeing so many deadly crashes where drivers are mixing drugs and alcohol,” Grondel said.

The number of drivers involved in fatal crashes under the influence of two or more drugs, or a combination of drugs and alcohol, has steadily increased since 2011. That year, 82 drivers under the influence were recorded. In 2015, that number increased to 146.

Grondel said that nearly three times as many drivers involved in deadly DUI crashes had multiple substances in their bodies as those with only alcohol or a single drug.

“I would like to remind Washingtonians that mixing alcohol, marijuana and other drugs with driving can have devastating consequences,” he added.