NCDOT implements new strategies to Booze It & Lose It Campaign aimed at reducing impaired driving

CHARLOTTE — Officials with the North Carolina Department of Transportation say a pilot program aimed at reducing and hopefully eradicating impaired driving has shown success.

The department tested new tools in seven western NC counties.

Those new tools included the expanded use of continuous alcohol monitoring or C.A.M. ankle bracelets.

Law enforcement puts those bracelets on drivers with a history of impaired driving. The technology within the bracelet reports any alcohol use directly to court officials.

Governor’s Highway Safety Program Director, Mark Ezzell, believes investments like the CAM bracelet will stop repeat offenders and get people the help they need.

“We know that this can be a potentially useful tool to get people who have been charged on the road to substance abuse recovery,” Ezzell said. “This can make a substantial difference in impaired driving because the number of people convicted are convicted on their second or subsequent offense.”

NCDOT says there were 277 alcohol-related crashes in the seven-county area in 2023; those numbers are down 7% from 2022.

The department plans to integrate the program into the Boose & Lose It Campaign later in the year.

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