The battle against drunk driving is taking a significant leap forward with the state police plan to begin weekly "sobriety checkpoints" across the state.

Such checkpoints have been conducted on approximately a monthly basis, so the new initiative represents a greatly stepped-up commitment to get intoxicated motorists off the road — and make violators who are apprehended face appropriate penalties.

Additionally, the drunk-driving crackdown will allow troopers from different stations to team up for increased effectiveness, according to Trooper Linette Quinn, a state police spokeswoman.

The first checkpoints of what is being called the Checkpoint Strike Force Initiative will be established this weekend in areas that have had large numbers of crashes involving drunken drivers.

Under the initiative, each of the 15 regional state police troops will be required to set up a similar checkpoint somewhere in its area at some point every weekend. If inclement weather makes the use of checkpoints unsafe, troopers will step up DUI patrols instead, Quinn said.

Meanwhile, state police Commissioner Col. Jeffrey B. Miller said troopers would coordinate their checkpoints with local police departments "to maximize our resources and get the best results."

That is a good tactic.

"We're constantly spreading the message" not to drink and drive, especially, during the holidays, Quinn said. "People are not getting that message," she added.

That is proven by the fact that 542 people were killed last year in the state in DUI-related crashes. Police reports in the Butler Eagle, on virtually a daily basis, provide troubling proof of the scope of the ongoing drunk-driving problem here.

Right-thinking motorists should be patient regarding inconveniences tied to the checkpoints. The inconveniences will be a small price to pay for the safer-roads benefits the initiative is intended to derive.