RoboCop is warning drivers to "drive sober or get pulled over" as part of an ad campaign about law enforcement efforts to crackdown on drunk driving.

New cars and trucks are safer than ever, but now the Obama administration is focusing on making drivers safer by enlisting the help of the nation’s best-known policeman: RoboCop.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is about to unleash a $7.5-million ad campaign featuring RoboCop reminding folks to “drive sober or get pulled over” and that police departments across the country will be cracking down on the behavior between now and Jan. 1.

In 2012, deaths in crashes involving drunken drivers increased 4.6% to 10,322 deaths – the first increase in six years – and above the overall 3.3% increase in road deaths in 2012.

The majority of those crashes involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or higher – nearly double the legal limit. During last year’s holiday season, 830 people died in drunk driving crashes.

In addition to the ads, NHTSA reached an agreement with 15 automakers to develop Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADDS), a noninvasive system aimed at detecting when a driver is above the legal alcohol limit.

“Drunk driving remains a deadly crime that tears apart families and destroys lives,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to work closely with all of our federal, state and local safety partners, including the automotive industry to combat drunk driving with new, lifesaving technologies.”

Congress approved $6.5 million to develop the technology that would rely on a touch system, instead of an ignition interlock system that requires drivers to blow into the device, to determine blood-alcohol levels.

A working research prototype vehicle is expected to be ready in early 2015 with on-road testing of the vehicle set to begin within a few years. The automakers that signed the agreement are committed for five years.

Currently, all 50 states are using ignition interlock systems in some way as part of programs involving drunk driving convictions. The current systems require drivers to blow into a device that measures blood-alcohol levels, and if the level is too high, it disables the vehicle’s ignition.

(NHTSA’s Strickland calls for more ignition interlocks. For more, Click Here.)

But rules on who must use the devices vary from state to state. In Michigan, for example, only those convicted of having blood-alcohol levels of 0.17, double the legal definition of driving under the influence, must use an interlock. In West Virginia, an interlock can be used for a first-time offender at a judge’s discretion. Other states only target repeat offenders.

Twenty states currently require the devices for anyone convicted of a drunk driving-related offense, which is the standard outgoing NHTSA Administrator David Strickland wants to see nationwide.

Last week, the agency released its “model guideline for state ignition interlock programs” that would cover even first-time offenders just barely over the limit.

(Click Here to see that even speeders want tougher laws.)

Studies show that ignition interlocks are about 75% effective in keeping those previously convicted of drunk driving from repeating their behavior. While there are numerous different designs, the devices typically require the driver to blow into a tube that measures breath alcohol levels. If a person fails they may try again, for up to three attempts before the vehicle is locked down.

Other versions may also use cameras to record a person’s behavior behind the wheel. Courts may access the data recorded and, in some jurisdictions, a motorist who blew over the limit may face additional penalties.