With Thanksgiving Thursday, the roads and highways will be packed with motorists driving to spend the holidays with their families.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety would like to remind Minnesota drivers there will be extra DWI patrols starting Wednesday and running through December 27.

Sergeant Jesse Grabow of the Minnesota State Patrol says during the Thanksgiving holiday over the past three years alone,1,624 drivers were arrested for DWI.

Grabow says the number of DWI arrests have been trending down every year since 2006. 2013’s number of DWI arrests was the lowest in recent history with 25,719 DWI’s.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety wants to keep people aware of the consequences of a DWI arrest. You can lose your license for up to a year and pay thousands of dollars in insurance and legal costs. Also, repeat offenders or first-time offenders arrested with a blood alcohol content of .16 or above will have to use ignition interlock on their vehicle to regain their license.