Howard County police are giving drivers fair warning: Drive sober or face the consequences.

Police will be watching for drunk drivers especially closely this week with a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location. 

On average, five people are killed in impaired-driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, according to Howard County police.

On Dec. 10 of last year, a 22-year-old Elkridge man died when his car swerved off Montgomery Road in Ellicott City and crashed into a house, igniting his car and setting the house on fire. 

The victim's blood-alcohol level was .20, according to the report -- more than twice the legal driving alcohol limit of .08 -- and he was not wearing a seat belt.

And on Dec. 23, 26-year-old Kenneth John Dunsmore of Marriottsville was killed when his car drove off Frederick Road in W. Friendship, striking a utility pole and a brick pillar. According to the police report, Dunsmore had a blood alcohol level of .26.

In all, police in Howard County determined that alcohol was a factor in six of 13 fatal collisions last year. In 2010, police arrested nearly 1,650 people for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence.

-With reporting from Brian Hooks