The North Carolina Department of Transportation has ratcheted up police presence in an effort to get N.C . residents – including  N.C . State students – to seriously reconsider driving under the influence of alcohol. The initiative kicked off August 19 as part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, and is scheduled to last until September 5.

The annual campaign, called “Booze it and Lose it,” increases the frequency of driving-while-impaired checkpoints and patrols by state and local law enforcement officers in an attempt to “remove impaired drivers from the roads,” according to a DOT release.

Gene  Conti ,  NCDOT  secretary, said the intent of the program is to increase awareness of responsible driving.

“Celebrating responsibly is simple,”  Conti  said. “Plan ahead and always designate a sober  driver.”

According to DOT, there were 500 alcohol-related crashes in the state during last year’s campaign. Those crashes resulted in 20 fatalities and 395 injuries.

Campus police is also taking part in the effort, according to Campus Police Patrol Division Commander Jon  Barnwell .

“[University] police co-sponsor checkpoints with the Raleigh Police Department and support  DWI  checkpoints run by the Sheriff’s Department,”  Barnwell  said.

Barnwell  said  N.C . State students are generally responsible when it comes to drunken driving, but they are not perfect.

“Most of our students are responsible and do the right thing by either not drinking, not drinking in excess or coordinating a designated driver or alternate form of transportation,” Barnwell  said. “Unfortunately, almost every year without fail we lose one of our students in an alcohol-related incident, with the bulk of those involving drinking and  driving.”

Barnwell  said during the last academic year, campus police arrested 45 students for driving while intoxicated. This statistic does not include arrests from other jurisdictions.

According to  Barnwell , campus police co-sponsored a  DWI  checkpoint on Gorman Street on the night of August 19.

Emily Robinson, a sophomore in environmental engineering, drove through one of the checkpoints and said she thinks the checkpoint itself was effective, but the number of police officers might have been excessive.

“The checkpoint was intense,” Robinson said. “I’ve never seen more cops in one place in my entire life. I think they could have stopped more drunken driving if they were in more around Raleigh, not just on one road. But overall, I think it did  work.”

Barnwell  said he thinks the program is effective during the dates of the program but does not necessarily do enough to address the greater problem.

“Through the promotion of the program prior to the target dates, I think it does have an influence on people to think twice before drinking and driving,”  Barnwell  said. “In the long run, I think it only puts a small dent in a fairly larger  problem.”

Robinson also said the program was effective as it has had an important effect on her personal drinking habits.

“I was too terrified to even have a sip of alcohol [before driving], and I think a lot of people felt the same way,” Robinson said. “There was too much risk.

“As much as we all say we’ll be OK to have one beer and drive, I see it can definitely get me arrested,” Robinson said. “That’s a risk I’m not willing to  take.”

Robinson went on to say the program’s most effective result will be achieved by setting examples.

“Even though this program will probably hurt a lot of people with jail and suspension from school and all the consequences that follow, I believe that it will make people stop and think before they pick up their keys to drive after a few drinks,” Robinson said.

According to  Barnwell , this program is just one way that campus police seeks to combat drunken driving and ensure responsible decision-making.

“[Campus police] takes every opportunity to engage our students in conversations about responsible decision-making and how certain behaviors and decisions can impact students for the rest of their lives,”  Barnwell  said. “Hopefully, our education outside the classroom is allowing our student body to be knowledgeable of the impact of risky behaviors.”

ALT:

2010 “Booze it and Lose it” Statistics for Wake County:

Total number of checkpoints and patrols: 331

Total  DWI  arrests: 215

Total occupant restraint charges (including safety belt and child safety violations): 373

Total criminal violations (including drug violations, felony arrests, fugitive arrests: 587

Total traffic and criminal violations: 8254

August 2011 FIRST WEEK (Aug 19-21) of “Booze it and Lose it” Statistics for Wake County:

Total number of checkpoints and patrols: 35

Total  DWI  arrests: 65

Total occupant restraint charges (including safety belt and child safety violations): 67

Total criminal violations (including drug violations, felony arrests, fugitive arrests: 132

Total traffic and criminal violations: 1322

Source:  N.C . Department of Transportation