Travel includes higher gas prices
By Rochelle Moore and Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 1, 2017 5:50 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Commuters pass through the intersection of U.S. 117 and Interstate 795 Thursday evening. Traffic is expected to increase as people travel for Labor Day.
Labor Day weekend marks trips to the shore and warmer weather one last time for many, but there are plenty of risks on the road that motorists should be monitoring.
This Labor Day weekend stands to bring potential disruptions in gas supplies and increasing prices at the pump.
Law enforcement is also warning people to be on the look out for people getting behind the wheel after drinking.
Gasoline prices across North Carolina have increased by 17 cents during the past week and rose 7 cents overnight to Thursday's statewide average of $2.36 per gallon, said Tiffany Wright, AAA Carolinas spokeswoman.
Prices in the Goldsboro area were pushing beyond $2.40 per gallon Thursday, at many service stations.
"Obviously, the gas prices are all over the place," Wright said. "The prices have shot up overnight."
AAA Carolinas predicted earlier this week that Labor Day travel would be comparable to travel a year ago, even with increasing gas prices resulting from Texas oil refineries being closed due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas a week ago.
On Thursday, the Colonial Pipeline, which transports gasoline and other fuel between Houston and the East Coast, was temporarily shut down because the Gulf Coast's refining capacity was offline. The line is expected to reopen by Sunday, according to the Colonial Pipeline Co.
Wright said gasoline supplies could be reshuffled in an effort to continue providing North Carolina with adequate supply.
"We don't know how much it's going to impact travel," Wright said. "If (prices) spike, that could keep people at home. We could see a reshuffling of supplies."
In 2016, AAA Carolinas estimates that nearly 1 million North Carolinians traveled during Labor Day weekend, with the majority, 86 percent, hitting the highways,
The top driving destinations for Carolinians during the holiday weekend are Myrtle Beach, S.C., Charleston, S.C., and Raleigh, according to AAA Vacations. The top flying destinations include Alaska, Ireland and Italy.
The price of gasoline is still expected to decrease later in September, a typical trend when travel reduces and gas stations switch to lower-cost fuel blends.
"Hopefully, by mid-September, we can get back to normal with gas prices and what we normally see," Wright said.
The Governor's Highway Safety Program has been monitoring other factors on the road, such as drunk drivers.
A Booze It and Lose It campaign for Labor Day has been underway since Aug. 18 statewide. It ends Monday.
Wayne County Sheriff's Office DWI Task Force Sgt. Jayson Hill said the agency has arrested about 32 people for driving while impaired in August alone.
"Just about every night we work we're doing checkpoints," Hill said.
Hill stressed that driving while impaired doesn't just mean driving drunk -- it also means being under the influence of any impairing substance, such as heroin or even over-the-counter cough syrup.
Some over-the-counter cough syrups contain an ingredient named Dextromethorphan, which Hill said causes people to become impaired if they consume too much.
To identify this type of intoxication, the DWI Task Force has three Drug Recognition Experts, who are trained to spot any impairments other than alcohol.
These DREs, as they're called, draw blood samples and send those off to the state crime lab to discover what is in the person's system.
Following the blood sample, Hill said the officer will determine which category of drugs the person is impaired on, based on the DRE training, and charge them with DWI.
North Carolina also has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drivers under 21 with alcohol in their systems.
"If someone under the age of 21 is impaired on alcohol -- there's zero-tolerance in North Carolina for anyone under the age of 21 -- so if they have any amount of alcohol that's a provisional DWI charge," Hill said.
Hill also explained that while many people say a blood alcohol level of 0.08 is the "legal limit," that's actually a misnomer.
"Courts have deemed 0.08 is sufficient evidence to uphold impairment," Hill said.
This means anyone who takes a test an is found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.08 can be charged with DWI.
People who are under this level but still show "appreciable signs of impairment" can also be charged with DWI, Hill said.
"Appreciable means if a normal person would think that person was impaired," Hill said.
While this is rare, it can still happen -- which mean the best course of action if you plan to drink over the holiday weekend is to have a plan to get home safely.
Hill said some of the best options are designated drivers, calling a sober friend, walking or even calling an Uber from the ride-sharing smartphone app.
"Anything you can do to keep from getting behind the wheel of that car," Hill said.