Booze It & Lose It:

As summer winds down, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program is ramping up a statewide effort to catch drivers who choose to get behind the wheel after drinking. August 16 kicks off the Labor Day “Booze It & Lose It” campaign, and law enforcement officers across North Carolina will be out in full force, citing motorists who drive drunk.

“As students and young adults say good-bye to summer and head back to school, they often celebrate with alcohol,” said Don Nail, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “We want to remind them that drinking and driving is a bad decision with life-threatening consequences. Instead, they should be smart and designate a sober driver, call a cab or take public transit to travel safely.”

In 2012, there were nearly 11,000 alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina. Nearly 56 percent of them involved drivers 18-34 years old.

Within that age group, males are the top offenders when it comes to drunk driving. In an effort to change the behavior of this key population, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the N.C. Department of Transportation produced a new public service announcement that will begin running today on digital and television media. 

Social media will also play a significant role in the Labor Day “Booze It & Lose It” campaign. The Governor’s Highway Safety Program is sharing the new PSA on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the GHSP website. 

“We know many young adults today rely on social media to talk to their peers and share information,” said Cris Mulder, deputy secretary of communications at NCDOT. “We’re using these free tools to reach our key audience with the message that drunk driving is never a good idea.”

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program and NCDOT encourage people to show support for the campaign via social media by using the hashtags #DumbIdea and #NotFunny when reminding their followers that driving drunk is a safety risk that should be taken seriously. 

The “Booze It & Lose It” campaign runs from today, Aug. 16, through the Labor Day holiday and ends on Monday, Sept. 2.