Law enforcement reminds us around holidays about the dangers of drinking and driving and they'll all be watching this weekend. For an Elkhorn man, the pain of drunk driving is with him every day.

Walk a mile in Dale Beller's shoes and you'll feel his pain. "My folks were killed by a drunk driver down in New Mexico as well as another couple from Norfolk, Nebraska."

January 25, 2002 is a day Beller will never forget. His parents, Larry and Rita and friends Edward and Alice Ramakers were killed when their car was hit head-on by a drunk driver. The man who hit them was an employee of the federal Interior Department.

Beller says bad decisions often lead to bad results. "They're just not thinking what's the consequences if I were to run into somebody and our family's impacted by that. I lost my parents and now I’ve got to live with that reality."

That's why Dale and other who have lost loved ones to drunk drivers say these checkpoints are so important. They get people off the road before they hurt someone.

"It's something that needs to be done and we're going to keep on doing it," says La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten. Nearly every law enforcement agency in the state will be conducting some type of special weekend enforcement aimed at insuring safety.

Chief Lausten says publicizing these checkpoints before they occur can be a deterrent for those considering driving under the influence. La Vista Police will be conducting checkpoints throughout the weekend. Volunteers from the community will be there as well.

"We'll have community volunteers on site that will be assisting with counting the cars that will be coming in and also we like to chart how long it takes a motorist who comes into a checkpoint from entry to exit," says Chief Lausten.

The volunteers will be helping in a support role so more officers can be on the streets, volunteers who share Beller's story. "It's a very bad problem. It happens every day."

Beller says the warning is out and there's plenty of time to find a designated driver so others can avoid the pain he feels daily. "Our message is don't drink and drive. It's impacting our lives still after six years."

Increased enforcement will also happen at state parks and on area waterways. A grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety pays to run the checkpoints.