LANSING – While reminding people that Thanksgiving is one of the top times for drunken driving, officials and activist groups are campaigning to deter celebratory drunken driving.

Overall, drunken driving arrests in Michigan have decreased over the last five years by more than 6,000, from 60,889 in 2000 to 54,056 in 2005.

Alice Stacy, executive director of the Macomb County Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) chapter, said that even though overall arrests have dropped, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is still a day for heavy drinking.

“It is really one of the biggest drinking days of the year,” Stacy said. “A lot of people are returning home from college seeing people they don’t see often and celebrating and alcohol is a part of that.”

Those who don’t drink regularly often are most dangerous on the road because they’re not used to the effects of alcohol and more likely to drive under the influence, she said.

“Non-routine drinkers are the ones who drink more when they celebrate and when they do this it causes them to think differently than they normally would,” Stacy said.

Homer Smith, executive director of MADD Michigan, said drinking increases around holidays because of the role of alcohol in American society.

“Drinking permeates all of society and it’s part of our culture in this country,” Smith said. “It’s a practice that occurs when people are together in a group setting.”

Smith, whose organization doesn’t oppose responsible and legal consumption of alcohol, said the drop in arrests couldn’t be attributed just to fewer drunken drivers on the road.

“There have been less alcohol-related arrests on the road but that doesn’t mean less people are driving drunk,” he said. “There are more than 1,500 less officers than there were five years ago because of budget cuts.”

Smith noted that offenders often drive drunk numerous times before they’re arrested.

Campaigns to discourage drunken driving occur during the year but there is only one statewide campaign through the Office of Highway Safety Planning, in addition to campaigns through organizations like MADD.

Last August, a statewide “You Drink & Drive. You Lose.” campaign was launched to a cost of more than $370,000 federal traffic safety dollars, according to the agency.

The ads, which ran in major cities including Detroit, Grand Rapids and Saginaw, were supported by more than $90,000 worth of additional advertising at no cost, according to the agency.

Smith said focusing on the legal penalties for driving drunk are more of a deterrent than focusing on the health risks that accompany drunken driving.

“If the message is enforcement is out there, that will do more to change people’s behavior than telling them about the risks to themselves and others,” he said. “People believe nothing will happen to them if they drive drunk, but that obviously isn’t true because one out of three people will be affected by drunk driving in their life.”

In addition to MADD, other anti-drunken driving groups exist, such as Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), which encourages high school students to make safe choices.

Lauren Foster, a senior at Romeo High School and president of its SADD chapter, said the group tries to discourage drunken driving to avoid tragic incidents.

“Our school has a lot of drinking by students and we try to let people know that you can have a great time in high school without having to drink,” Foster said.

Both MADD and SADD run awareness campaigns throughout the year and use a symbolic red ribbon for car antennas to signify support.

Stacy said the Macomb County MADD chapter uses its red ribbon campaign for awareness as well as to honor law enforcement officers who stop drunken driving.

“We have a kick-off event this year on Nov. 20 that will be a chance to start reminding people of the issue, combined with our lifesaver event honoring officers who combatted drunk driving in the last year,” she said.

Those who stop a drunk driver may have saved a life, Stacy added.

“The red ribbon campaign is intended to let people know about the risks of drunken driving,” Stacy said. “Our hope is that these little ribbons will remind people to make plans to celebrate safely.”