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The Carter County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has announced its participation in the Booze It and Lose It campaign, a statewide effort led by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to combat impaired driving during the holiday season. The campaign will run from Dec. 13, 2024, to Jan. 1, 2025.

The THSO’s Booze It and Lose It campaign is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization, aimed at reducing impaired-driving crashes across the country during the holidays.

During this time, CCSO deputies will increase patrols throughout Carter County, focusing on identifying and apprehending impaired drivers.

“When someone chooses to drive while impaired, they put not only their own life at risk but also the lives of others on the roadway,” Carter County Sheriff Mike Fraley said. “The deaths that occur from impaired driving are absolutely preventable. Be smart — if you choose to drink, then also choose not to drive.”

The campaign combines increased public messaging about the dangers of drunk driving with sobriety checkpoints and high-visibility enforcement to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities caused by impaired driving.

In Tennessee, a single DUI conviction for a first-time offender can result in costly fines, court costs, legal fees, jail time, mandatory drug and alcohol treatment, and the installation of an ignition interlock device in the offender’s vehicle.

The THSO provides grant funding to support CCSO’s enforcement efforts during the Booze It and Lose It campaign.

For more information about the THSO and its traffic safety initiatives, visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.