Police have ramped up action against drink driving, with rising incidents sparking concerns it has become a dangerous part of Dunsborough's culture.
A new campaign by police will include more units, patrols, breath tests and messaging across Dunsborough, to tackle the deadly trend.
Dunsborough Police First Constable Trent Rapley said there was a marked increase in alcohol related driving offences in the area over the last 3-4 months, with alcohol also linked to a number of accidents.
He said that while school leavers were generally well behaved, the recent spike in the dangerous behaviour had mostly come from the local Dunsborough community.
With limited options for ride sharing and taxis, Constable Rapley said planning ahead was vital in regional towns such as Dunsborough.
"We're all adults, we need to plan ahead," he said.
"We need to have designated drivers, or simply don't drink while you're going to drive, or moderate your drinking so that you're well below the limit.
"We have to get our message across to locals to take full responsibility for what happens in the town."
Constable Rapley said the spike in drink driving was already keeping police busy, and there were concerns the upcoming Christmas season would see more reckless behaviour on roads.
"It's been a huge drain on resources for us to tackle this, while we could have been doing many other things to benefit the community," he said.
"There have been accidents that have involved alcohol. That's our main concern. It's not about imposing the penalties for drink driving. It's about the risk that it puts towards the community, because we do know that alcohol directly contributes to accidents.
"We need to get the message out that it is still a privilege to hold a driver's licence. There are a lot of people in the community that treat it as a right, but it is a privilege. We need to look after it."
Along with greater police presence and random breath tests in hotspot areas, the campaign will include visible messaging against drink driving with signage, in the media and on social media.
Every car that is stopped by police will also be breath tested.
"It's not a secret campaign to catch motorists out. It's really one that we need to change the culture of the Dunsborough area," Constable Rapley said.
"We need every single stakeholder in the community to do their part to try and reduce this, because every life saved is worth saving."
