Tag Archive for: #ncgovernorshighwaysafetyprogram

State Highway Patrol

Driving This Holiday Weekend? Remember: Booze It And Lose It

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State and local law enforcement officers will be out in force over the holiday weekend and beyond as part of the “Labor Day Booze It & Lose It” campaign, so as you plan to enjoy a last summertime hurrah, make sure those plans include having a designated driver. Don’t drink and drive.

Increased patrols and checkpoints will be conducted statewide through Sept. 10, to keep impaired drivers off North Carolina roads. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein helped lead Monday’s kickoff event at the Davidson County Rest Area off Interstate 85 South.  “Keeping people safe has to be Job One for all of us,” Stein said. “If you drink and drive, you will get caught. Protect yourself and others – never operate a motor vehicle if you’ve been drinking.”The “Booze It & Lose It” campaign aims to eliminate impaired driving using outreach and stepped-up law enforcement efforts. Nearly every law enforcement agency in North Carolina participates in the 29-year-old campaign.   “This Labor Day, we want you to plan ahead by arranging a sober ride home from any festivities that might involve alcohol or other impairing substances,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program, a part of the N.C. Department of Transportation. “Law Enforcement will be working extra patrols during this campaign to keep all motorists safe by catching those who don’t heed this message. There’s really no excuse.”

Alcohol is a leading contributor to fatal crashes in North Carolina, according to crash data compiled by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles. Between 2017 and 2022, North Carolina has averaged more than one alcohol-related vehicle fatality each day. Last year, there were 462 alcohol-related fatalities on North Carolina roads and 16 of those deaths came during the Labor Day period.

State Highway Patrol

Booze It & Lose It Campaign Aimed At Reducing Alcohol-Related Car Crashes

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State and local officials have a simple message – never drink and drive.

Doing so over the long holiday weekend could mean a trip to jail rather than to the beach or pool.

Through Sept. 11, law enforcement statewide will be stepping up patrols to stop impaired drivers during the annual Labor Day Booze It & Lose It campaign.

Driving while impaired is against the law and could be deadly, not to mention expensive. People charged with DWI can lose their license and pay thousands of dollars in court fees.

“By finding a sober ride home, you can prevent a fun summer night from turning tragic,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “More than 400 North Carolina families lost loved ones last year in alcohol-related crashes, and if we can stop even one family from experiencing this kind of loss, it will have been worth it.”

In 2021, 423 people died on North Carolina roads due to alcohol-related crashes, including 15 during the Labor Day Booze It & Lose It enforcement campaign period.

Increased enforcement during specific campaign periods year-round is a key part of making North Carolina roads safer. That’s especially important this year, as officials seek to reduce the number of traffic fatalities, which in 2021 marked the most traffic deaths in North Carolina since 1973.

BAT-Mobile Units On State Roadways To Curb Impaired Driving

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North Carolina drivers in all 100 counties should be on the lookout for the BAT-mobile cruising their local streets this summer. But it’s not the Caped Crusader who’s behind the wheel – it’s your local law enforcement officer, working to get impaired drivers off the road.

This BAT-mobile refers to mobile Breath Alcohol Testing Units, used by local law enforcement agencies as part of campaigns to keep impaired drivers off the streets. And Governor’s Highway Safety Program Director Mark Ezzell said the technology proves useful in the effort to curb impaired driving.

“BAT-mobiles – while not exactly the same as the one Batman drove – are a pretty critical tool for fighting crime in North Carolina, especially when it comes to impaired driving,” Ezzell said in a press release.

This is part of an ambitious plan to conduct a BAT-mobile enforcement campaign in every North Carolina county in order to curb impaired driving from Memorial Day to Labor Day, which encompasses the 100 deadliest days of the year on the road.

The time of year is especially dangerous for teenagers, who are 16 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal crash during this time period, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

During the 100 Deadliest Days campaign, BAT-mobiles will be used at DWI Checking Stations or during other impaired driving enforcement effort conducted by local law enforcement agencies. Campaigns are generally conducted at locations with a high rate of impaired driving crashes.

BAT-mobiles are operated by the Forensic Tests for Alcohol Branch, a division of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The units allow law enforcement to conduct breath alcohol and other sobriety tests, are fully equipped with the instruments and forms necessary for a law enforcement officer to test and process a driver arrested for an impaired driving offense, and even have office space for a magistrate to operate in order to make the process of charging an impaired driver more seamless.

The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program provides grant funding to DHHS each year to operate seven units statewide.

Law enforcement agencies interested in taking part in a BAT-mobile campaign should visit the Forensic Test for Alcohol website at or contact Jason Smith, statewide BAT-mobile coordinator, at jason.r.smith@dhhs.nc.gov.