Officers charged more than 3,800 North Carolina motorists with driving while impaired during the 2010 Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign, according to a press release.
The campaign takes place from Dec. 3 through Jan. 2, and local law enforcement agencies are already planning to coordinate a program for New Year’s Eve.
Officials said members of the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, Concord Police Department, Kannapolis Police Department and North Carolina Highway Patrol look to be out in force New Year’s Eve.
Normally, the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program advertises and posts commercial ads on the consequences of drinking and driving during the Christmas / New Year’s holiday season, officials said.
In some cases, the information has seemed to be a good deterrent. For instance, Kannapolis Police Department has only charged six people with driving while impaired on New Year’s Eve since 2006.
Looking back over the past four years, traditionally New Year’s Eve has not been different from any other weekend in the city of Kannapolis for DWI arrests, officials said.
Officials attributed that fact to aggressive enforcement and educational events promoting highway safety throughout the year. For instance, since 2009, Kannapolis Police Department has conducted 210 checkpoints throughout Cabarrus and Rowan counties.
“The Kannapolis Police Department will continue our aggressive enforcement efforts during the New Year holiday concentrating on the impaired driver,” said Kannapolis Police Chief Woody Chavis.
Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office is also planning for New Year’s Eve with checkpoints.
Last year, the sheriff’s office charged 10 people with driving while impaired just on New Year’s Eve during a checkpoint campaign.
Officers on the roads and checkpoints seem to be a deterrent for many drunk drivers. While it may be a time to party, local law enforcement numbers on driving while impaired arrests during the actual New Year’s Eve holiday are kind of low.
For instance, last year, the Concord Police Department only had four charges.
But officers are remaining vigilant and will continue to post checkpoints. According to the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program, there were five checkpoints in Cabarrus County, during the third week of the campaign, which took place Dec. 12 to Dec. 18.
That same week there were at total 458 checkpoints through out North Carolina, not including officers saturating the area, looking for drunk drivers.
In 2010, there were 1,017 alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina during the holiday campaign, according to a news release. That campaign ran from Dec. 3 through Jan. 2, resulting in 31 fatalities and 728 injuries.
State Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said state and local law enforcement officers will be out in force as part of the Holiday “Booze It & Lose It” campaign. Checkpoints and stepped-up patrols will be through Monday, Jan. 2, across North Carolina in an effort to remove impaired drivers from the roads.
“Please plan ahead and designate a sober driver this season,” Conti said. “So everyone can make it home safe over the holidays.
Contact reporter Michael Knox: 704-789-9104.
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