What is "Booze It & Lose It"?

Enforcement

As part of the "Booze It & Lose It" campaign, law enforcement officers conduct sobriety checkpoints in every county of the state. Since the start of the Governor's Highway Safety Initiative in 1993, law officers have conducted more than 26,000 checkpoints for seat belts and impaired driving and charged more than 44,000 people with driving while impaired (DWI). 

Law officers use North Carolina's breath-alcohol testing (BAT) mobile unit emblazoned with the "Booze It & Lose It" logo at checkpoints across the state to stop drunk drivers.

Education

A coordinated public information campaign continues to remind people that in North Carolina, drunk drivers lose their license on the spot. Not only do DWI offenders lose their license or even lose their lives in needless crashes, they pay a large tab for their offense. 

To bring home the anti-drunk driving message, a series of television and radio public service announcements were distributed across the state. A radio PSA by Gov. Hunt reminded motorists that if they drink and drive in North Carolina, they had better be prepared to pay the consequences. The first television PSA depicted a birthday party where the guest of honor learns drunk driving is not a game and how there is even more to lose with the state’s tougher drunken driving laws. A second television PSA featured Rocket Ismail, former wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, who urged North Carolinians to play it smart and safe by not drinking and driving.

The Cost of Drunk Driving

In North Carolina, first-time DWI-offenders pay at least $9,640 in legal fees, court costs and fines. 

North Carolinians have picked up the tab for DWI offenders for too long. Drunk drivers cost North Carolina taxpayers nearly $1 billion in health care, insurance and other related costs each year.

"Booze It & Lose It" gets results.

• Alcohol-related fatalites in North Carolina have decreased dramatically in the 1990s. In 1990 43.5 percent of all traffic fatalities were alcohol-related. The average for the years 1994 to 1996 shows rhat number dropped to 30 percent. In 1998, that number reached an all-time low of 29 percent. The number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes had decreased from 602 in 1990 to 469 in 1998--a 22.1 percent decrease.
  

 

• Since "Booze It & Lose It" began in 1994, the number of serious injuries sustained from alcohol-related crashes also decreased. In 1998, there were 10,629 serious injuries from alcohol-related crashes, down from 10,757 in 1994. 
  

 

• A 1994 study showed the "Booze It & Lose It" campaign cut in half the number of intoxicated drivers found at late-night checkpoints. Prior to the 1994 campaign, about 2 percent of all night-time drivers passing through checkpoints were found to have a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Three months later, the number of legally intoxicated drivers seen at these checkpoints was cut in half-to slightly less than 1 percent (0.9) percent. Learn more about the alcohol study from the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.
  

 

• North Carolina courts disposed of 84,908 DWI court cases from July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1996.
  

 

• "Booze It & Lose It" is taking a "bite out of crime" with other offenses such as drug violations, stolen vehicles and fugitives from justice found at checkpoints and roving patrols. Since 1993, law officers have discovered nearly 50,000 criminal offenses, including fugitives from justice, firearms violations, felony drug violations and stolen vehicles.
  

 

• On Dec. 8, 1997, North Carolina received the "State Award" from the National Commission Against Drunk Driving for its anti-impaired driving efforts.
  

 

• On Nov. 23, 1999, the state received a top four ranking in MADD's 1998 "Rating the States 2000" survey. North Carolina was one of four states to earn a "A-" in the battle against drunk driving, according to MADD and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. 
  

"Booze It & Lose It" continues.

The Governor's Highway Safety Program's (GHSP) will work diligently with law enforcement and other groups involved in the DWI issue and coordinate ongoing statewide law enforcement and education campaigns.

• The GHSP is a partner in MADD's annual Red Ribbon campaign. 
  

• December is Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention month. The GHSP is stepping up education efforts to get out the message to not drink and drive, especially during the holiday season. 
  

• And for those thinking about getting behind a wheel while drinking, "Booze It & Lose It" is an ongoing effort. Law enforcement officers are continually on the lookout for impaired drivers.