'Booze It & Lose It' Nets 60 Arrests During 1st Weekend
3 July 2000
GHSP Director Reminds That Impaired Driving Will Not Be Tolerated During July 4th Holiday
RALEIGH, N.C. - Equipped with a new set of laws to guard against drunk
driving, North Carolina law enforcement officers were out in full force this
weekend as part of the Summer 2000 "Booze It & Lose It" campaign to remind
motorists that impaired driving will not be tolerated anywhere in the state.
The new laws:
* Reduce the legal alcohol concentration (AC) from 0.08 to 0.04 for
persons who have been convicted of one DWI and have had their license
reinstated.
* Reduce the legal AC from 0.04 to 0.00 for persons who have been
convicted of a second DWI and have had their license reinstated.
* Require the installation of an ignition-interlock system in the vehicle
of a person who has been convicted of having an AC of 0.16 or greater.
Sobriety checkpoints in Asheville*, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville,
Raleigh and Wrightsville Beach netted 60 driving while impaired (DWI) arrests
over the weekend of June 30-July 2, and law enforcement in communities across
the state are continuing to strictly enforce North Carolina's DWI laws.
"As motorists hit the road during this busy time of the year to vacation
with their families, law enforcement officers are stepping up enforcement of
the state's anti-driving while impaired laws," said Joe Parker, director of
the Governor's Highway Safety Program. "Tragedies associated with drunk
driving, however, can occur any time of the year -- not just during the
heavily-traveled July 4th holiday. We want people to know that law
enforcement officers will be out there stopping drunk drivers regardless of
what time of year it is."
During last year's July 4th holiday, 12 people died and 1,216 were injured
on North Carolina roads, making this one of the most dangerous times to
travel.
Besides charging impaired drivers, law enforcement officers at these
checkpoints issued 22 seat belt and six child passenger safety citations.
They also discovered 359 other traffic violations and 23 total criminal
violations, including three felony drug charges and one fugitive from justice.
Additional checkpoints and roving patrols will be conducted by law enforcement
across the state throughout the campaign, which continues through July 16.
The following are the citations issued by law enforcement officers at
"Booze It & Lose It" sobriety checkpoints in six locations the weekend of
June 30 - July 2:
Other
DWI Occupant Traffic Violations
Restraint
Driving Child
While Passenger Other
Checkpoint Impaired Seat Belt Safety Traffic
Location Violations Violations Violations Speeding Violations
Charlotte/
Mecklenburg
County 24 3 2 1 55
Greenville/
Pitt County 5 0 0 0 0
Greensboro/
Guilford
County 9 3 3 0 42
Raleigh/
Wake County 13 15 1 23 59
Wrightsville
Beach/
New Hanover
County 9 1 0 0 34
Total 60 22 6 24 190
Other
Traffic Violations Criminal Violations
Total Misdemeanor Felony Stolen
Checkpoint Traffic Drug Drug Firearm Vehicles
Location Violations Violations Violations Violations Recovered
Charlotte/
Mecklenburg
County 105 3 1 0 0
Greenville/
Pitt County 28 0 0 0 0
Greensboro/
Guilford
County 42 0 2 0 2
Raleigh/
Wake County 123 2 0 0 0
Wrightsville
Beach/
New Hanover
County 61 2 0 0 0
Total 359 7 3 0 2
Criminal Violations
Other Total
Criminal Total Traffic &
Fugitives Violations Criminal Criminal
Checkpoint Arrested Not Violations Violations
Location Listed
Charlotte/
Mecklenburg
County 0 1 5 134
Greenville/
Pitt County 0 2 2 35
Greensboro/
Guilford
County 1 0 5 47
Raleigh/
Wake County 0 0 2 125
Wrightsville
Beach/
New Hanover
County 0 7 9 70
Total 1 10 23 411
*Please note that information from the Asheville checkpoint was not
available at the time of this release. Media may contact the GHSP on
Wednesday, July 5, for Asheville's checkpoint statistics.