Drunk driving crackdown tied to July 4 holiday

Raleigh, N.C. — State and local law enforcement officers will increase their presence during the Fourth of July holiday as part of the Booze It & Lose It: “Operation Firecracker” campaign, authorities said Monday.

Checkpoints and stepped-up patrols will be conducted from Friday through July 6 across the state in an effort to remove impaired drivers from the roads.

Last year, 60 North Carolina drivers were involved in fatal traffic crashes during the Fourth of July holiday week. Twenty-one of those fatalities were alcohol-related.

Alcohol-related crashes also accounted for 411 injuries in the state during the same week in 2007.

Officers charged more than 2,100 drivers with driving while impaired during the 2007 ”Operation Firecracker” campaign. More than 6,173 stepped-up patrols and checkpoints were held.