Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Statewide ‘Booze It and Lose It’ underway ahead of Labor Day

A North Carolina state trooper on patrol on I-40. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy N.C. Department of Public Safety)
Law enforcement will step up patrols as part of the statewide Booze and Lose It campaign to take drunk drivers off the streets. (Courtesy N.C. Department of Public Safety)

RALEIGH — Law enforcement will crack down on drunk drivers this holiday weekend as the Governor’s Highway Safety Program launches Booze It and Lose It.

The campaign takes place through Sept. 8, meaning there will be increased patrols and checkpoints on roadways.

According to state officials, the Labor Day holiday weekend is “one of the deadliest times of year for alcohol and drug-related traffic deaths.” 

State data indicate that motorists impaired by alcohol and drugs lead fatal crashes in North Carolina. Last year, it equaled 354 alcohol and drug-related crash fatalities, while this year alone there has been 163.

“This Labor Day, drivers should plan ahead by arranging a sober ride home from any festivities that might involve alcohol or other impairing substances,” the governor’s safety program director Mark Ezzell said in a press release. “Law enforcement will be working extra patrols during this campaign to keep our roads safe by catching those who do not heed this message. Safety is our number one priority.”


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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