NC Highway Safety Program Aims to Limit Drunk Driving in State's 'Deadliest Month'

Historically, drunk driving accounts for nearly one-third of vehicle-related fatalities across North Carolina. Around the Halloween holiday, more instances of impaired driving are reported than normal.

To try and keep the roads safe this week, the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program is starting its annual Halloween ‘Booze It & Lose It’ campaign. Beginning on Monday, more than 500 law enforcement agencies across the state will begin their campaign to monitor impaired driving even more stringently than normal.

Director of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program Mark Ezzell says greater prevention efforts during this time of the year become more important than ever.

“Research shows that over the past five years,” he says, “October has generally been our deadliest month on North Carolina roadways. I think that’s for a couple of reasons. One is it’s a lovely month to be out. The sun’s a little bit lower, which can create some issues. You have animals, pedestrians, bicyclists out more, and in addition to all of that, we have Halloween.”

That holiday, known for getting more families walking around after dark and parties with friends, is a big part of the program’s enforcement campaign. Ezzell says the ‘Booze It & Lose It’ campaign takes on renewed importance around October 31.

“Last year during the Halloween week, we had 35 people die on our highways,” says Ezzell. “Nine of those were involved in some type of impaired driving incident. Those are nine preventable deaths just in one week at the [end] of October.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic, some Halloween traditions will be interrupted. Local, state and federal health guidelines discourage typical activities like trick-or-treating or holding parties, meaning there’s a chance fewer people could be out this week.

Ezzell says, however, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program expects there to still be risks of impaired drivers. He points to increasing traffic volumes again around North Carolina, and the fact that roadway fatalities have increased this year compared to last year, as indicators for the campaign’s importance.

“What [those trends] tell me,” Ezzell describes, “is people are speeding more [because] they have less congestion to worry about, so they’re taking that as a license to speed. We have more pedestrians and bicyclists out and we’re not as careful as we should be in those congested areas. And finally, I think we’ve got a sense of emotional distraction in our lives.”

While not as clearly dangerous as impaired driving, distracted driving is still inherently dangerous. Ezzell says stresses like personal health, families, schooling and other various challenges are weighing heavier on people’s minds than usual, meaning distracted driving becomes more likely.

“If you take those [stressors] with you when you get behind the wheel of a 2,000-pound of a guided missile, it can be dangerous,” Ezzell says. “We encourage people to take a breath, relax before you start the ignition, and, when you’re driving, concentrate on the driving.”

The Halloween ‘Booze It & Lose It’ campaign by the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program will run from Monday through Sunday. More information about it can be found on the state Department of Transportation’s website.

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NC Highway Safety Program Aims to Limit Drunk Driving in State’s ‘Deadliest Month’

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