ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- The top cops in Northeast Florida met in a somber place Thursday morning to send home a serious message.

Jacksonville's sheriff, John Rutherford, as well as the sheriffs of Clay, Putnam, and St. Johns counties held a conference at a Clay County cemetery in order to make their message -- that driving under the influence kills -- perfectly clear.

The sheriffs said they do not just want to catch drunken drivers; they want to prevent drinking and driving before it occurs.

Bringing awareness not only to drunken driving, but also to dangerous driving, is just one of the many steps the sheriffs said will help.

“You have heard all the other sheriffs say that traffic is the No. 1 complaint from our constituents, and they want something done about it in all in of their counties,” said Sheriff Rick Beseler, of Clay County.

In many counties, this year’s traffic fatalities are up in comparison to last year.

During 2004 in Bradford County, two people were killed on the roadways, and this year there have already been eight fatalities.

In Clay County, the number remains the same at 27 traffic-related deaths.

In Putnam County, there have been 23 fatalities, one more than last year.

In St. Johns County, there were 33 deaths last year and 35 so far this year.

In Duval County, there were 120 traffic fatalities last year, and this year 144 people have already been killed on the roadways. That is an increase of more than 20 percent.

However, the sheriffs have plans to combat the problem.

“Our ’wolf pack’ is back, and we are also going to be having DUI checkpoints on our major throughfares,” Rutherford said.

“We are encouraging all of our officers to look at traffic as a serious matter and aggressively enforce traffic laws,” Beseler said.

”It is a problem that transcends boundaries and jurisdictions, and we have to make sure that we are smarter than the people who are out there doing it. Part of that is to partner together and work together,” said Sheriff David Shoar, of St. Johns County.

The sheriffs reiterated their message several times. They said they hope that no one loses a loved one to drunken driving this holiday season.