On Friday, officers from law enforcement agencies across the county teamed up for a checkpoint on U.S. Highway 17 South Business as part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program’s “Booze It & Lose It” Labor Day campaign.

“Whenever we do (a checkpoint), we really try to make sure that all agencies in the county are involved,” said Washington Police and Fire Services Director Stacy Drakeford.

N.C. State Highway Patrol, Washington Police, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, NCDMV, Chocowinity Police, Aurora Police and North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control, all took part in the checkpoint.

“Without all of the cooperation, we wouldn’t be able to do these big checkpoints,” wrote Cpl. Jerry Seighman, of the Washington Police Department, in an email.

Seighman puts together the multiagency campaigns in his role as county coordinator for the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Though the purpose behind the “Booze It & Lose It” campaign is to remove those driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs from the roadways, according to Drakeford, the initiative also focuses on safety.

“The purpose is to enforce the motor vehicle laws of the state of North Carolina and to make sure people are traveling in a safe manner — check for insurance, seatbelts — so it’s truly a safety checkpoint from that standpoint; to make sure everyone is complying with the law,” Drakeford said.

Violations included the following: one driving after consuming citation, a charge reserved for under-21-year-olds who have been drinking but pass sobriety tests; one equipment violation; two citations for driving with a revoked license; five seatbelt violations; two child restraint violations; four citations for excessive window tinting; two citations for driving without a license/with an expired license; four registration violations; one charge of possession of marijuana; one charge of possession of drug paraphernalia; one expired inspection and three warnings and one charge listed as “other.” During the course of one stop, officers arrested a person wanted for failure to appear in court; this person also faces more charges after attempting to bring contraband into the Beaufort County Detention Center after arrest, according to Seighman’s email.

In addition to checkpoints, Highway Patrol and other agencies boost the number of patrols during the GHSP campaigns. All campaign total by county are made available on the NCDOT website.