North Carolina kicks off annual Booze It and Lose It campaign

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Don't drive drunk. Those three words are amplified by authorities every year at this time with the slogan Booze it and Lose It.

N.C. Governor's Highway Safety Program kicked off this year's Booze It and Lose It campaign in Durham, warning drivers that law enforcement will be out making sure driver's are following the law.

Prosecutors and victim advocates stand together as the holidays approach, reminding everyone that drunk drivers can lose their licenses as well as injure or kill people on the road.

The sister of a woman killed 23 years ago by a drunk driver shared her painful memory with ABC 11.

"She was just going to the store and hit by a three-time repeat drunk driver," said Nicole Hutchinson, "He was coming from a bar. He blew through a stop sign and pinned her up against a telephone pole."

Ollie Jeffers of MADD says she's seen too many cases in court where drunk drivers, even when convicted, keep getting behind the wheel with no remorse or consideration of the danger they pose to others.

"Until it hits them, unless it's one of their family members. Unless it's somebody that they know, then they'll continue to do it," Jeffers said. "If you're gonna go out and drink, plan ahead. Use a designated driver. And if you find yourself in a place where you don't have one, use Uber, some other kind of system, or call a friend. Just make sure you don't get on the highway after you've been drinking."

Otherwise, you run the risk of an arrest or involvement in a wreck that could kill or injure others as well as yourself. Hutchinson said sober friends of a person who's obviously too drunk to drive safely should take away their friend's key to prevent more alcohol-related traffic tragedies.