Those indulging in the liquid type of “holiday spirits” and operating a motor vehicle following consumption are discovering they made a poor judgment call.

In week #4 of the statewide “Booze It & Lose It” campaign, 986 motorists were arrested for driving while impaired (DWI). Included in that number were 131 underage drinking drivers.

A total of 3,582 motorists have been arrested for DWI since “Booze It & Lose It” began on Nov. 17.

In the four counties of the Roanoke-Chowan area, nine drivers were charged with DWI. Over one-half (five) of those arrests came in Hertford County. Two each were recorded in Bertie and Gates counties. Northampton County did not have any DWI arrests.

“Our law enforcement officers continue to work hard patrolling our roads this holiday season,” said Darrell Jernigan, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “Officers will be out in full force until the New Year in an effort to keep North Carolina citizens and travelers safe.”

Nearly 2,300 checkpoints and stepped-up patrols were conducted statewide between Dec. 5-11. Counties with the highest number of DWI citations include Wake with 100 and Mecklenburg with 104.

In addition to cracking down on impaired drivers, officers last week issued 2,399 safety belt and 341 child passenger safety violations. Among the 31,047 total traffic and criminal citations reported were 9,764 speeding violations and 682 drug charges. Officers also recovered 27 stolen vehicles and 45 fugitives from justice.

The local county-by-county breakdown of those citations are as follows:

Bertie County n Five seat belt violations; two child passenger safety tickets; 86 speeding citations; and two driving while license were revoked (DWLR).

Gates County n Six seat belt violations; one child passenger safety ticket; 21 speeding citations; and three DWLR.

Hertford County n 14 seat belt violations; two child passenger safety tickets; 33 speeding tickets and three DWLR.

Northampton County n 19 seat belt violations; three child passenger safety tickets; 57 speeding tickets; four DWLR; one drug violation and one fugitive arrested.

Local law enforcement officers remind the motoring public to buckle-up and drive sober in order to arrive alive at your holiday destination.