Operation Firecracker under way

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If you're hitting the roads this holiday weekend watch out because police are out in full force.

Operation Firecracker is under way. Officers throughout North Carolina are looking for speeders, people who aren't wearing seatbelts and drunk drivers. It’s part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tell WCNC they'll have an entire unit devoted to Interstate 277 and around the Uptown bars on July 4. 

Gastonia Police are planning several DWI checkpoints on Friday.

“A lot of people think, 'Well I'm just going to run to the store to get a six-pack. I'm going a mile so I'll be OK.' I think they just don't realize what can happen until it's too late,” said Officer Mark Tilley with the Gastonia Police Department.

Operation Firecracker runs through the weekend.