'Booze It & Lose It' Nets 1,736 Impaired Driving Arrests During First Week; Sum Marks Second-Highest DWI Campaign Citations Since 1995

    RALEIGH, N.C., July 11 Law enforcement officers across the
state stepped up enforcement of North Carolina's impaired driving laws during
the first week of the summer "Booze it & Lose It" campaign, charging 1,736
people with driving while impaired (DWI).  The sum marks the highest number of
DWI citations during the first week of a "Booze It & Lose It" campaign since
summer 1995, when officers wrote 2,294 DWI violations.
    The arrests are a result of 1,617 checkpoints and stepped-up patrols
conducted across the state between June 29 and July 7.  Counties with the
highest number of DWI citations included Wake (132), Mecklenburg (97) and
Cumberland (77).  Cumberland also reported 13 arrests of drinking drivers
under age 21, who are subject to a .00 alcohol-content standard.
    In addition to cracking down on impaired drivers, law enforcement officers
issued 4,930 seat belt and 743 child passenger safety violations.  They
discovered a total of 35,297 traffic and criminal violations, 358 drug
charges, 31 firearms violations, and 10 fugitives from justice.  They also
recovered 33 stolen vehicles.
    The following are the citations issued statewide by law enforcement
officers at "Booze It & Lose It" sobriety checkpoints and stepped-up patrols
from June 29 to July 7.  The campaign continues through 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


                  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


                           Criminal Violations

                         Other                     Total
                       Criminal       Total      Traffic &
        *Fugitives    Violations    Criminal     Criminal
         Arrested     Not Listed    Violations  Violations
           10            431          820         35,297

    *These columns are not counted into overall total of violations

    For county-by-county citation data, or information about this or other
North Carolina highway safety issues, contact Public Information Officer Jill
Warren Lucas at 919-733-3083, or visit our web site at:
http://www.dot.state.nc.us/services/ghsp.