North Carolina Kicks Off "Booze it & Lose It" Campaign to Catch More Drunk Drivers

According to a recently published North Carolina Office of the Governor press release, North Carolina Governor Mike Easley has announced that local, county, and state law enforcement will be heading out in full force for the next too weeks in part of a Labor Day "Booze It & Lose It" campaign that will help save lives by keep intoxicated and drunk drivers from state streets and roads.

The "Booze It & Lose It" campaign will put more police officers on the roads and set up checkpoints all across the state. The campaign will go from August 17th to September 3rd and it expected to catch hundreds of drivers, possibly more, who choose to hit the road after they have been drinking.

Easley said about the anti-drunk driving campaign, "As North Carolinians celebrate the last few weeks of summer, I want to remind them to do so responsibly. Law enforcement officers will be cracking down on impaired drivers to help keep our roads safe."

Alcohol-related accidents and crashes are a huge problem during holidays such as Christmas, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. The state of North Carolina reported that 96 residents were involved in deadly traffic accidents between August 17th and September 3rd, with 23 of those accidents being alcohol-related.

North Carolina resident Jay Clume speaks about his personal experiences with drunk driving: "Seven years ago this labor day, my friend died because of a drunk driver. He was only 16 years old. The person who hit the car he was driving in lived, so my friend sacrificed his life because this person made a huge mistake. It's great that the state is recognizing that this is a huge problem and that most of the people that die are innocent people and not the drunk drivers. If people want to avoid being arrested for drunk driving, then they won't get on the roads and if they do, they will be put behind bars."

State, county, and local law enforcement officers will help kick off the anti-alcohol campaign with news media and public events at 2 p.m. on August 16th at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex, 600 Independence Drive in Rocky Mount and at 10 a.m. on August 17th at the Biltmore Estate (Picnic Pavilion), One Approach Road in Asheville, North Carolina.

For more information about the state's "Booze It & Lose It" anti-alcohol campaign, or for citation totals, visit the North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program website at http://www.ncdot.org/programs/GHSP/.