AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is urging motorists in Maine to drive safely to keep roads safe as New Year’s Eve approaches.

LePage said 163 people have died on Maine roads this year, and that too many of those deaths were caused by distracted or drunken drivers. He says drunken-driving deaths doubled in the first six months of 2012.

Federal money is helping to pay a “Drive Sober Maine!” campaign that will continue into the new year.

LePage says the program provides money to 52 Maine law enforcement agencies to pay overtime for patrols at times and locations where drunken driving is most common.