The North Carolina Department of Transportation has ratcheted up police presence in an effort to get N.C. residents – including N.C. State students – to seriously reconsider driving under the influence of alcohol. The initiative kicked off August 19 as part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, and is scheduled to last until September 5.
The annual campaign, called “Booze it and Lose it,” increases the frequency of driving-while-impaired checkpoints and patrols by state and local law enforcement officers in an attempt to “remove impaired drivers from the roads,” according to a DOT release.
Gene Conti, NCDOT secretary, said the intent of the program is to increase awareness of responsible driving.
“Celebrating responsibly is simple,” Conti said. “Plan ahead and always designate a sober work.”
Barnwell said he thinks the program is effective during the dates of the program but does not necessarily do enough to address the greater problem.
“Through the promotion of the program prior to the target dates, I think it does have an influence on people to think twice before drinking and driving,” Barnwell said. “In the long run, I think it only puts a small dent in a fairly larger m is just one way that campus police seeks to combat drunken driving and ensure responsible decision-making./p
“[Campus police] takes every opportunity to engage our students in conversations about responsible decision-making and how certain behaviors and decisions can impact students for the rest of their lives,” span data-scayt_word=”Barnwell” data-scaytid=”25″Barnwell/span said. “Hopefully, our education outside the classroom is allowing our student body to be knowledgeable of the impact of risky span data-scayt_word=”behaviors.”” data-scaytid=”10″>behaviors.”
ALT:
2010 “Booze it and Lose it” Statistics for Wake County:
Total number of checkpoints and patrols: 331
Total DWI arrests: 215
Total occupant restraint charges (including safety belt and child safety violations): 373
Total criminal violations (including drug violations, felony arrests, fugitive arrests: 587
Total traffic and criminal violations: 8254
August 2011 FIRST WEEK (Aug 19-21) of “Booze it and Lose it” Statistics for Wake County:
Total number of checkpoints and patrols: 35
Total DWI arrests: 65
Total occupant restraint charges (including safety belt and child safety violations): 67
Total criminal violations (including drug violations, felony arrests, fugitive arrests: 132
Total traffic and criminal violations: 1322
Source: N.C. Department of Transportation
