Area police departments, including Cary, Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, McHenry and Spring Grove, are taking part in the the 2012 Holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over/Click It or Ticket” crackdown.

The intensified enforcement effort against drunken drivers and seat belt law violators underscores the disproportionate number of traffic deaths caused by alcohol and failure to buckle up, according to news releases.

The stepped-up enforcement began Monday and runs through New Year’s Eve and will concentrate on the hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.