Law enforcement agencies around North Carolina are joining the North Carolina Highway Patrol for the 2012 Halloween “Booze It & Lose It” campaign. The campaign will kick off tonight and run through October 31, 2012. The campaign aims to keep impaired drivers off the roads and allow everyone to enjoy the holiday. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is planning ‘Low-Manpower Checkpoints” in different places throughout the county, so drivers should notice more officers and patrols on the roads.
State officials say Halloween parties lead to a number of drunk driving arrests and auto accidents, which is why they are making an effort to prevent injuries and deaths. It seems more and more adults are celebrating this holiday each year, which means the potential for drunk drivers on the road increases as well. When the National Consumer Federation surveyed adults five years ago, only 52.5 percent of adults planned to celebrate Halloween. This year, the number has increased to 71.2 percent.
While the campaign was not scheduled to start until tonight, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police got a jump on the effort by making eight arrests late Thursday and early Friday at a DWI checkpoint in southeast Charlotte. The checkpoint was conducted from 11 p.m. Thursday until 3 a.m. Friday in the 4900 block of Providence Road, which is near Fairview Road.
It is important for anyone consuming alcohol this weekend to make sure they have arranged for a safe ride. Something this simple could potentially save lives and prevent serious injuries. During the 2011 campaign, officers statewide charged more than 750 motorists with DWI.
