'Booze It & Lose It' Nets 1,729 Impaired Driving Arrests During First Week

Officers Also Issue Nearly 7,300 Seat Belt and Child Passenger Safety Violations RALEIGH, N.C., July 11 -- Law enforcement officers across the state nearly matched last summer's record-setting pace of stopping and arresting impaired drivers during the first week of the summer "Booze It & Lose It" campaign. Officers issued a total of 1,729 driving while impaired (DWI) citations, including 187 to drivers under the legal drinking age of 21.

Last year, officers issued 1,736 DWI citations during the first week of the campaign, the highest number since summer 1995, when 2,294 DWI violations were recorded.

The current arrests are a result of 1,610 checkpoints and stepped-up patrols conducted across the state between June 28 and July 7. Counties with the highest number of DWI citations included Wake (109), Cumberland (98), and Mecklenburg (75). Eight additional counties reported at least 40 DWI violations each, including Carteret, Davidson, Forsyth, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Robeson, and Sampson.

In addition to cracking down on impaired drivers, law enforcement officers issued 6,399 seat belt and 885 child passenger safety violations. They discovered a total of 41,327 traffic and criminal violations, including 512 drug charges, 64 firearm violations, and 15 fugitives from justice. They also recovered seven stolen vehicles.