STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
CALLING DRIVERS' ATTENTION to a new statewide effort to get drunk drivers off North Carolina highways are (from left) Holden
Beach Police Chief Robert Cook, Tim Phillips of the Governor's Highway Safety Program, Ocean Isle Beach Patrolman E.F. Lammonds,
Shallotte Patrolman IV. T. Smead and Shallotte Police Chief Rodney Gause.
CHECKPOINTS TO BE SET UP AT RANDOM
Local, State Law Enforcers Mount
'Booze It & Lose If DWI
Campaign
BY Sl'SAN L'SHKR
South Brunswick Islands law en
forcement agencics are working
with their counterparts at the state
and county level for "Booze It &
Ixisc It." a statewide campaign to
get drunk drivers off North Carolina
highways
Each of the four South Brunswick
municipalics with a police force of
its own (Shallotte, Occan Isle
Beach. Sunset Beach. Holden
Beach) will work on its own and
with other agencics, said Shallotte
Police Chief Rodney Cause at a
kick-off promotion last week
"The State Highway Patrol and
county personnel w ill be coroiu^ in
to the towns to help." he said. "We'll
be conducting roving patrols, setting
up checkpoints and we're already
running radar.
"We're going to be working in
town and out on the bypass, week
days and weekends, at ail hours and
on an irregular schedule."
One checkpoint was set up in
Brunswick County during the first
week of the program. Nov. 14-20,
resulting in six DWI charges and 10
day administrative license revoca
tions. Officers also issued citations
for 108 other violations, including
66 speeding, eight scat belt, two dri
ving with license revoked, eight dri
ving with no operator's license, and
32 unspecified violations.
Local DWI detection efforts are
getting a boost from new technolo
gy. Shallotte Police Department has
received a passive-active alcohol
sensor from Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) and Nationwide
Insurance Co. While sensor data
cannot be admitted as evidence in
court, it can be used to develop
probable cause for an arrest.
If a driver is stopped for speed
ing, for example, officers can also
check for the presence of alcohol. In
passive mode, said Ted Phillips of
the Governor's Highway Safety
Program, the small, hand-held PBA
3(MK) sensor can detect the presence
of alcohol in a vehicle that officers
normally might not suspect, allow
ing the officer to move to the next
step.
Switched to active mode the sen
sor works as a portable breathalyzer,
helping determine which drivers
should be formally taken in and test
ed for blood alcohol concentration.
In North Carolina, drunk drivers
lose their license on the spot. A dri
ver is considered guilty of driving
while impaired if blood alcohol con
centration meets or exceeds .08
when tested, or if a driver is under
the infucnce of or affected by alco
hol of other drugs.
"Booze It & Lose It" uses the
same format as the successful "Click
It or Ticket" scat belt program earli
er this year ? periodic, intensive law
enforcement and extensive public
education.
According to Col. R A. Barefoot
of the N C. Highway Patrol, high
visibility enforcement has shown to
be the best method of convincing
people not to drink and drive.
"Research shows that appeals to do
what's right don't work for people
who drink and drive," he said.
"What deters them is the risk of get
ting caught and losing their license."
A driver convicted of DWI stands
to pay a higher cost than simply loss
of a North Carolina driver's license.
N.C. Insurance Commissioner Jim
Long said a DWI conviction can
cost a driver as much as $6, (XX) for a
first offense, with insurance rates
alone jumping at 4()0 percent.
A first conviction results in li
cense revocation for one year and. at
minimum, a fine of up to S100 and
not less than 24 hours imprisonment,
24 hours community service, or 30
days without a limited driving privi
lege, or combination. The maximum
punishment can be a fine of up to
$2,(MX), and not less than 14 days or
more than 24 months' imprisonment.
North Carolina already has the
third highest DWI arrest rate in the
nation per licensed driver. Last year
its officers arrested 7^.867 people
for DWI.
According to the N.C. Depart
ment of Transportation Traffic Engi
neering Branch, drunk drivers also
cost all North Carolians ? nearly Si
billion in health care, insurance and
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