Eyewitness News rode along with North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Shepherd on Friday evening. He said he and other troopers will be doing a DWI blitz this weekend.

There will be more of them out on the road, looking for people who have been drinking and driving during St. Patrick's Day weekend.

He hopes that will deter people from breaking the law.

Shepherd says he often looks for drivers who are speeding, weaving in and out of traffic or cars without headlights on. He says that can be a sign that someone has been drinking.

"I've stopped people running 90 in a 55 and they thought they were getting passed by other cars," he said.

While he says drunken drivers can be on the road any day, any time, on holiday weekends like this one, he expects even more.

Last St. Patrick's Day weekend, Shepherd says he alone arrested four or five drunken drivers. This year he hopes things are different because he's seen too often what can happen when alcohol gets behind the wheel.

"I've seen a lot of kids hurt by drunk drivers," said Trooper Shepherd. "Think about your own family when you go out."