The North Carolina State Highway Patrol in partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Program and local law enforcement agencies from across the state have released the results from the N.C. Interstate Challenge conducted during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
The N.C. Interstate Challenge took place on Wednesday, November 25 and Sunday, November 29, identified as the two busiest travel days of the year. The philosophy entitled “Vision Zero” was used by all agencies on the state and local level in hopes of obtaining a desired goal of zero deaths during the campaign’s allotted time frame. In support of the campaign, law enforcement officers from the State Highway Patrol and local agencies conducted increased patrols on each of the major interstate corridors.
Violations that were targeted included speeding, distracted driving, seat belt use, following too closely, and driving while impaired. As a result of the combined efforts from each agency involved, the State Highway Patrol is proud to announce no fatalities were reported on any major interstate corridor during the campaigns allotted timeframe.
“The campaigns during the Thanksgiving holiday period were extremely successful,” said Colonel Bill Grey, commander of the State Highway Patrol. “The efforts displayed by each law enforcement officer across our state and nation allowed us to reach our goal of zero lives lost on interstate highways.”
The N.C. Interstate Challenge two-day special enforcement period (11 a.m.-11 p.m., Wednesday, Nov., 25, and 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sunday, Nov.29) resulted in the following:
|
Total Crashes Investigated |
56 |
|
Number of Fatal Crashes |
0 |
|
Number of Alcohol Related Crashes |
1 |
|
Number of CMV Related Crashes |
2 |
|
Number of Fatalities |
0 |
|
Number of Unrestrained Fatalities |
0 |
|
Number of Citations Written |
1,597 |
|
Number of Commercial Motor Vehicle Citations Written |
16 |
|
Number of Driving While Impaired Citations Written |
22 |
|
Number of Moving Violations |
1,221 |
|
Number of Non-Moving Violations |
294 |
|
Number of Seatbelt Violations |
129 |
|
Number of Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections |
85 |
|
Number of Drivers Placed Out of Service |
2 |
|
Number of Vehicles Placed Out of Service |
14 |
|
Number of Drug Related Arrests |
0 |
|
Number of Vehicles Seized |
0 |
Running concurrent with the N.C. Interstate Challenge , the Highway Patrol also participated in a national campaign entitled the I-40 Challenge . Neighboring states to include Arizona, Arkansas, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas targeted several violations along the I-40 corridor to include speeding, distracted driving, seat belt use, following too closely, and driving while impaired.
The I-40 Challenge two-day special enforcement period (11 a.m.-11 p.m., Wednesday, Nov., 25, and 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sunday, Nov.29) resulted in the following:
- Total Collisions Investigated 225
- Number of Fatal Collisions 0
- Number of Alcohol Related Collisions 0
- Number of Fatalities 0
- Number of Unrestrained Fatalities 0
- Number of Driving While Impaired Citations 31
- Number of Speeding Citations 3,359
- Number of Aggressive Driving Citations 59
- Number of Distracted Driving Citations 12
- Number of Seatbelt Citations 416
- Number of Child Restraint Citations 57
- Number of Motorist Assisted 448
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, International Association of the Chiefs of Police, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the Governors Highway Safety Program partnered with North Carolina State Highway Patrol to implement this high-visibility combined highway safety law enforcement campaign, which focuses enforcement on multiple traffic safety laws at one time.