The ghouls, ghosts and goblins were not the only scary thing out on Halloween weekend.
N.C. Police and Highway Patrol arrested 605 people during the Halloween weekend for driving while impaired — a slight increase from last year when 601 people were arrested.
557 of this year's DWI arrests were alcohol related and 48 were drug related. Police made 53 arrests in Wake County, 42 in Guilford County and 27 in Forsyth County.
The arrests were made by police departments participating in the Governor's Highway Safety Program's Halloween BOO-ze It & Lose It campaign to reduce drunken driving and educate the public about its risks.
Don Nail, director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program, said the program was a response to the number of fatalities and crashes occurring in the state over Halloween weekend.
“Nationally, (Halloween) is known to be a weekend when folks tend to go out and drink a little bit more and, unfortunately, sometimes get behind the wheel impaired,” he said. “So two, we let anyone who might (drive while impaired) know that there will be an extra emphasis from the enforcement perspective to back up our educational efforts.”
LaRonda Scott, national senior manager of field fundraising for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said they support McCrory’s efforts to crack down on drunken driving during the Halloween weekend.
“(McCrory) has been a big supporter of eliminating substance-impaired driving … ,” she said. “For the communities, they can feel confident that officers are out there making sure that we are safe, our families are safe.”
Nail said the program was more successful this year because of greater involvement from law enforcement.
