Calgary police say drivers who post locations of roadside checkstops on Twitter are putting lives at risk.

"What they're essentially doing is helping the impaired drivers," said Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey.

While using social media to share where police have set up is not illegal, Stacey says it deliberately puts everyone on the road in harm's way.

Police ramp up checks on drinking and driving through the holidays due to the number of parties. (CBC) "It could be their family, it could be them that gets hit by an impaired driver."

Tracy Franklin frequently accompanies police at checkstops as a volunteer, and is also the past president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). She says it's irresponsible of people to tweet out the locations.

"They've helped somebody that is impaired get away and is going to go on and kill one, two, three or five people," said Franklin. "Police are out there to get impaired drivers off the road to make it safer."

The number of checkstops increases over the holidays in lockstep with parties and events where alcohol flows.

Franklin says instead of avoiding getting caught, drivers should focus on getting home safely by planning ahead.

"Stay where you're at, get a hotel, take the bus, have a designated driver," she suggests.