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'Booze It & Lose It' Nets 1,085 Impaired Driving Arrests During 2nd Week

'Booze It & Lose It' Nets 1,085 Impaired Driving Arrests During Second Week; More Than 2,800 Drivers Cited For DWI During The Summer Campaign

    RALEIGH, N.C., July 18 Law enforcement officers across the
state stepped up enforcement of North Carolina's impaired driving laws during
the second week of the summer "Booze It & Lose It" campaign, charging 1,085
people with driving while impaired (DWI).  A total of 2,821 drivers were cited
for DWI during the campaign, which began June 29 and ended July 15.

    A total of 1,086 checkpoints and stepped-up patrols were conducted across
the state between July 9-15.  Counties with the highest number of DWI
citations included Wake (141), Forsyth (59) and Mecklenburg (53).  Wake also
reported 21 arrests of drinking drivers under age 21, who are subject to a .00
alcohol-content standard.  Eleven underage impaired drivers were cited in New
Hanover County.

    More than 2,700 checkpoints and stepped-up patrols were held throughout
the campaign.  In addition to DWI arrests, law enforcement officers issued a
total of 8,311 seat belt and 1,147 child passenger safety violations.  They
discovered a total of 59,280 traffic and criminal violations, including
818 drug charges, 60 firearms violations, and 17 fugitives from justice.  They
also recovered 73 stolen vehicles.

    The following are the number of citations issued statewide by law
enforcement officers at "Booze It & Lose It" sobriety checkpoints and stepped-
up patrols from June 29 to July 15.


                                  DWI             Occupant Restraint

                     Total         Driving                          Child
                 Checkpoints       While                           Passenger
                     and           Impaired       Seat Belt          Safety
       Week 1      Patrols         Violations     Violations       Violations

    June 29-July 7  1,617           1,736           4,930             743
    July 9-15       1,086           1,085           3,381             404
    Total           2,703           2,821           8,311           1,147

                 Other Traffic                   Criminal Violations
                  Violations

                     Other       Total                            *Stolen
                    Traffic     Traffic    Drug       Firearm      Vehicles
       Speeding    Violations Violations  Violations  Violations   Recovered

       12,148       10,170      34,477       358          31         33
        8,753        7,513      24,803       460          29         40
       20,901       17,683      59,280       818          60         73


                  Criminal Violations

                         Other                     Total
                       Criminal       Total      Traffic &
        *Fugitives    Violations    Criminal     Criminal
         Arrested     Not Listed    Violations  Violations
           10            431          820         35,297
            7          1,275        1,764         26,567
           17          1,706        2,584         61,864


    *These columns are not counted into overall total of violations