Last Updated on September 16, 2014 4:04 pm
The Labor Day holiday ushers in the start of school and football season, and signals the end of summer – marking a time many people decide to celebrate with alcohol. The N.C. Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program worked closely with law enforcement officers statewide to keep drunk drivers off the road during the Labor Day “Booze It & Lose It” campaign. Today, they announced that 2,757 people were arrested across North Carolina from Aug. 15 to Sept. 1 for making the life-threatening decision to drive after drinking.
“Law enforcement continues to work hard day and night to make our roads safer,” said Don Nail, GHSP director. “Arresting an average of 153 drunk drivers a day is no small feat. However, our goal is zero; zero drunk drivers and zero drunk driving arrests.”
The top five counties for DWI arrests during the Labor Day “Booze It & Lose It” campaign include:
• Wake County with 316 DWI arrests;
• Guilford County with 192 DWI arrests;
• Mecklenburg County with 150 DWI arrests;
• Robeson County with 113 DWI arrests; and
• Forsyth County with 112 DWI arrests.
In addition to DWI arrests, local and state law enforcement officers issued 102,209 traffic and criminal citations statewide at 9,642 checking stations and patrols. They also issued citations for 6,722 safety belt and 1,083 child passenger safety violations; 27,820 speeding violations; 604 work zone violations and 3,137 drug charges. In addition, they apprehended 2,874 fugitives from justice and recovered 217 stolen vehicles.
Below are some of the stats for the High Country from the report:
Checkpoints: Watauga – 4, Ashe – 3 , Avery – 3
Number of Saturation Patrol: Watauga – 40, Ashe – 20, Avery – 11
Number of Checkpoints and Patrols: Watauga – 44, Ashe – 23, Avery – 14
Under 21 DWI Charges: Watauga – 2, Ashe – 3, Avery – 0
21 and Over DWI Charges: Watauga – 12, Ashe – 2, Avery – 8
TOTAL DWI: Watauga – 14, Ashe – 5, Avery – 8
Safety Belt Violations: Watauga – 34, Ashe – 21, Avery – 23
Child Passenger Safety: Watauga – 0, Ashe – 1, Avery – 2
Total Occupant Restraint Charges: Watauga – 34, Ashe – 22, Avery – 25
Drug Violations: Watauga – 43, Ashe – 1, Avery – 14
Stolen Vehicles Recovered: Watauga – 1, Ashe – 0, Avery – 0
Fugitives Arrested: Watauga – 15, Ashe – 0, Avery – 4
Felony Arrests: Watauga – 9, Ashe – 0, Avery – 2
Other Criminal Violations: Watauga – 85, Ashe – 0 , Avery – 2
Total Criminal Violations: Watauga – 153, Ashe – 1, Avery – 22
Speeding: Watauga – 183, Ashe – 25, Avery – 39
Drive While License Revoked: Watauga – 12, Ashe – 9, Avery – 9
Other Traffic Violations Not Listed: Watauga – 426, Ashe – 97, Avery – 64
Uninsured Motorist: Watauga – 8, Ashe – 4, Avery – 7
Reckless Driving: Watauga – 6, Ashe – 1, Avery 3
Total Traffic and Criminal Violations: Watauga – 641, Ashe – 176, Avery – 177
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