By Sunayana Prabhu
MONMOUTH COUNTY – Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. It’s the annual traffic safety enforcement campaign targeting impaired driving during the busy holiday travel season. While it has been in effect since Nov. 30, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden is urging drivers to heed the warning as holiday season peaks this week.
In a press statement Dec. 12, Golden announced that throughout the holidays, law enforcement officers are “putting the brakes on drunk drivers.” For a happy and safe season, “law enforcement will be cracking down and on the lookout for impaired drivers. Therefore, if you are going to drink, don’t drive,” Golden said.
Throughout the county and state, law enforcement officers have stepped up patrols and set up sobriety checkpoints stopping motorists in an effort to maintain safe roadways.
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving through enforcement and education and lasts throughout the month of December.
Grant funding from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety (NJDHTS) is used to mobilize law enforcement agencies throughout the state, a statement from the office of Attorney General Mathew J. Platkin said. NJDHTS has awarded nearly $600,000 in grants to 98 police agencies across the state to fund enhanced patrols and high-visibility sobriety checkpoints during the month of December.
“Impaired driving is dangerous, deadly, and does not belong on our roadways,” said Platkin.
Last year law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over holiday campaign made 604 impaired driving arrests, issued 1,253 seatbelt citations statewide, and wrote 4,671 speeding tickets. “Make no mistake – if you drive impaired, you will face serious consequences. Together, we can ensure that everyone can celebrate with their family and friends in a responsible manner,” said Platkin.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2020 there were 11,654 deaths from drunk driving crashes. Of the 697 people killed in traffic crashes in New Jersey in 2021, 125 were killed due to a drunk driver.
“Any fatality or crash on our roads is one too many,” said Golden. “Enforcing the law and educating the public about the dangers of drinking and driving raises awareness and helps keep our roadways safer.”
In an effort to avoid presenting a danger to yourself or others, it’s important to follow these safety tips:
• Designate a driver who will not consume any alcohol the entire night.
• Do not drive if you are impaired – call a cab, an Uber, a sober friend or family member.
• If you don’t have a ride, stay where you are.
• If you live nearby, do not attempt to walk or ride a bicycle home.
• Be responsible, if you see someone about to get behind the wheel or on a motorcycle after they have been drinking, take their keys and find them a ride with someone who is sober.
• Always buckle up, every ride. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.
• Under no circumstances should adults provide alcohol to a minor or allow anyone under 21 to consume alcohol while at their home.
The article originally appeared in the December 22 – 28, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
