As the holiday season kicks into full swing, authorities are warning not to drink and drive.

Rep. Nita Lowey yesterday joined local police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving in New City to urge people to think before getting the behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.

The group tells News 12 that the statistics on drunken-driving accidents during the holidays are staggering. "1,698 people were killed in crashes and in almost a third of those deaths a drunken driver was involved," says Lowey.

Rep. Lowey says she's hoping new federal funding for a driver alcohol detection system in cars will help decrease the number of alcohol-related deaths.