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Statewide "Booze It & Lose It" enforcement campaign is underway

The "Booze It & Lose It" holiday enforcement campaign will continue through January 2. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The "Booze It & Lose It" holiday enforcement campaign will continue through January 2. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. 

You’ll likely see more law enforcement officers patrolling the highways in the next few weeks. The statewide “Booze It & Lose It” holiday enforcement effort is underway.

State officials are warning drivers they have much to lose by driving under the influence. Mark Ezzell, director of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program, released a statement reminding motorists that beyond the risk of causing fatal accidents, drivers “could face thousands of dollars in court costs and fines, jail time, or a revoked license.”

As part of the “Booze It & Lose It” effort, law enforcement agencies step up patrols looking for impaired drivers. The state is also supporting campaign awareness with media advertising and social media outreach.

According to a news release, so far this year 432 people have been killed in North Carolina in alcohol or drug-related crashes, compared to 503 over the same time period in 2021. The annual total of fatalities had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials say travelers can stay safer by always finding a sober ride home, buckling seatbelts, and obeying the speed limit.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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