‘Dare To 55’ to target speeding, drunk driving on Tuesday
Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies will be participating in a traffic safety event Tuesday afternoon and evening in Dare County targeting aggressive drivers that are speeding, tailgating, driving while impaired, and committing other offenses.
Dare County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. M.A. “Andy” Harris is coordinating the Dare To 55 event that will run between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.
“Dare to 55 is kind of a play on words because our ’10-code’ for impaired driving is 10-55, and now the fastest speed limit in Dare County is 55 mph,” Harris said.
North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles data between 2017 and 2021 shows there is an average of one vehicle-related collision every 7 hours and 42 minutes in Dare County.
There were an average of 863 collisions, 400 injuries and four deaths, and an average of 55 alcohol-related crashes, with an average of 34 injuries and 1 death over the same five-year period.
Dare ranked 49th in pedestrian fatalities in North Carolina, 38th in pedestrian crashes with serious injuries, and 11th in crashes involving bicycles between 2017-21, which were the most recent years available from NCDMV.
Tuesday’s event is part of a series of Booze It & Lose It efforts in Dare County that have received backing from the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
The program is also assisting with funding to cover overtime for the Dare County Sheriff’s Office to conduct high visibility enforcement focused on seatbelt and speeding enforcement, and pedestrian and bicycle safety, during the vacation season.
Dare To 55 is also part of the statewide Operation Firecracker Booze It and Lose It campaign running from June 24 to July 7.
“The event promotes traffic safety in Dare County through what is called a saturation patrol, some places call it ‘wolf packing’, along with a checkpoint,” Harris said.
The patrols will take place along U.S. 158 from Kitty Hawk to Nags Head, N.C. 12 between Whalebone Junction and Oregon Inlet, and U.S. 64 from Nags Head to the Alligator River Bridge between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
That will be followed by the checkpoint on the U.S. 64 causeway near Pirates Cove in Manteo from 9 to 11 p.m.
“The checkpoint will be a DWI checking station with the state’s BATMobile,” Harris said.
The Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) Mobile Unit Program is a joint effort of the State Division of Public Health’s Forensic Tests for Alcohol Branch and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
The units are a “one-stop shop” that includes breath alcohol testing instruments, a magistrate’s office, and fingerprinting equipment, saving law enforcement time and improving efficiency in processing DWI arrests, and acts as a high-profile deterrent to impaired driving.
