Over 290 people were charged with violations during Operation Firecracker this past July Fourth weekend. No serious accidents or fatalities occurred.
The operation lasted from Monday, June 29 to Sunday, July 5 and was conducted under the Booze It and Lose It campaign created by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, in an effort to reduce impaired drivers on the roadways.
This year, the campaign included two traveled points of emphasis — N.C. 41 and U.S. 421 — along with coverage on Interstate 40. The state Highway Patrol worked in conjunction with the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office in order to cover all three roadways.
“It was a very successful weekend,” Highway Patrol Trooper W.L. Silance said in a follow-up interview. “We were able to make several contacts with the motoring public throughout Sampson County. We had some very good interactions and were able to get on many Chapter 20 violation categories, including speeding, seat belts (not wearing), and also driving while impaired (DWI) charges.
Marcus Smith, chief deputy with the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, said he felt like Operation Firecracker was a success.
“Operation Firecracker is another example of what can be accomplished when local and state law enforcement agencies work together with a common goal,” Smith noted. “We appreciate the dedication of everyone involved in making our communities and roadways safer.”
During the seven-day period, over 293 total traffic violations were written to those traveling in the area. The most common violation recorded was speeding, with over 113 different counts. The fewest violations recorded on the roads were actually DWI charges, with only three of them occurring during that time span. The second most common violations happened to be other non-listed traffic violations at 108, followed by seat belt violations at 20, driving while license revoked at 18, 14 violations of reckless driving, nine instances of uninsured motorists, and eight child passenger safety violations.
“The 293 charges, I would say that’s a pretty common number,” Silance pointed. “It’s a good base for the amount of troopers in the district and what we do every week. Our main focus over the holiday weekend was our total collision numbers and keeping that at a low number. We did not have any serious reported collisions over the weekend; none of the motoring public traveling through Sampson County was seriously injured at that point. That’s a good takeaway that we did look at from this past weekend.”
The three DWI violations and a lack of any serious collisions come at the opposite end of what the trend had been statewide over the past couple of years.
According to the North Carolina 2024 Traffic Crash Facts data, there were over 184 alcohol related crashes during the Fourth of July of that year, which led to 123 injuries and five fatalities. That alcohol related crash rate was the second highest recorded throughout the year, behind only Thanksgiving 2024 (197).