MANATEE - The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office’s Traffic Unit will conduct a DUI saturation patrol from 5:30 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Saturday in areas with a history of high DUI-related incidents, according to a news release.

Studies show the average DUI driver commits this violation 80 times per year which averages out to once every 4-5 days, according to the sheriff’s office. Also, national averages show that an alcohol related fatality occurs every 30 minutes.

So far this year, the Traffic Unit has made over 200 DUI arrests.

The purpose of the saturation patrol is to bring awareness to the DUI problem in Manatee County in an effort to reduce the number of DUI’s, particularly the ones involving serious crashes, according to the sheriff’s office.