'Booze It & Lose It' Nets 2,372 Impaired Driving Arrests From June 30 - July 16
20 July 2000
GHSP Director Reminds Motorists of the Consequences of Drinking and Driving
RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina law enforcement officers made 2,372 driving
while impaired arrests during the summer 2000 "Booze It & Lose It" campaign,
which lasted from June 30 - July 16. The arrests are the result of 1,444
checkpoints and random patrols across the state. The numbers were reported by
the law enforcement agencies in each county and compiled by the North Carolina
State Highway Patrol.
In addition to cracking down on drunk drivers, law enforcement officers
issued 7,708 seat belt and 926 child passenger safety violations. They
discovered 12,729 other traffic violations and 4,173 total criminal
violations, including 132 felony drug charges, 62 firearms violations, and
15 fugitives from justice.
"We are fortunate to live in a state where DWI laws are some of the
toughest on the books," said Joe Parker, director of the Governor's Highway
Safety Program. "With our new DWI laws in hand, law enforcement officers are
able to target repeat offenders harder than ever before to ensure that
motorists are the safest they can possibly be."
Motorists should also keep in mind that, effective September 1, a law will
go into effect to prohibit all open containers of alcohol inside a vehicle.
Currently, the driver is prohibited from having an open container of alcohol,
however both front- and backseat passengers are allowed to open containers of
beer and wine.
The following are the citations issued statewide by law enforcement
officers at "Booze It & Lose It" sobriety checkpoints and random patrols from
June 30 - July 16.
DWI Occupant
Child
Driving Passenger
Week Total While Seat Belt Safety
Checkpoints Impaired Violations Violations
and Patrols Violations
June
30-
July 9 842 1,474 4,744 596
July
10-16 602 898 2,964 330
Totals 1,444 2,372 7,708 926
Other Traffic Violations Criminal Violations
Week Speeding Other Total Misdemeanor Felony
Traffic Traffic Drug Drug
Violations Violations Violations Violations
June
30-
July 9 1,190 7,689 32,218 284 69
July
10-16 7,591 5,040 20,496 197 63
Totals 8,781 12,729 52,714 481 132
Criminal Violations
Other
Stolen Fugitives Criminal
Week Firearm Vehicles Arrested Violations
Violations Recovered Not Listed
June
30-
July 9 28 42 8 1,939
July
10-16 34 22 7 1,559
Totals 62 64 15 3,498
Criminal Violations
Total
Week Total Traffic &
Criminal Criminal
Violations Violations
June
30-
July 9 2,320 34,538
July
10-16 1,853 22,349
Totals 4,173 56,887