Perdue, Bev. Press Release, 2009-07-10, Gov. Perdue Announces More Than 1,300 Charged with Driving While Impaired During "Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker"

Beverly Eaves Perdue Governor State of North Carolina Office of the Governor 20301 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-0301 July 10, 2009 Contact: Chris Mackey Office: (919) 733-5612' Gov. Perdue Announces More Than 1,300 Charged With Driving While Impaired During “Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker” Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that state and local law enforcement officers cited 1 ,340 motorists for driving while impaired during the “Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker” campaign, which ran June 29-July 5. A total of 53,614 traffic and criminal citations were issued statewide. “Thanks to law enforcement officers’ continued dedication to removing impaired drivers from our roads, more families were able to enjoy the Independence Day holiday together,” Perdue said. During the Governor’s Highway Safety Program campaign, officers statewide conducted more than 4,800 sobriety checkpoints and dedicated patrols. Counties with the highest number of DWI citations included: Mecklenburg (93), New Hanover (75) and Wake (66). Officers also issued 4,881 safety belt and 729 child passenger safety violations, 15,293 speeding violations and 745 drug charges. In addition, they apprehended 285 fugitives from justice and recovered 45 stolen vehicles. For county-by-county citation totals, visit the GHSP Web site, www.ncdot.org/programs/ghsp/news.