Bloomfield Police Get Grant To Run ‘Drive Sober’ Traffic Campaign

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Police Department was among 110 in NJ to get a grant for the latest incarnation of “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

Last week, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety announced grants totaling more than $540,000 that will be used by local law enforcement agencies to crack down on drunk and impaired drivers as part of the national initiative, which runs from Aug. 16 to Sept. 3.

As part of the 2019 campaign, the Bloomfield Police Department got a $5,500 grant to run a local crackdown, state officials said.

According to the Division of Highway Traffic Safety:

“In 2017, driving while intoxicated - either under the influence of alcohol or drugs - was listed as the major contributing factor in more than 25% of the 591 fatal crashes that occurred on New Jersey roads that year. Those 158 alcohol/drug-related crashes killed 174 people. During a five-year period between 2013 and 2017, 678 individuals were killed in alcohol-related crashes in the state.”

Last year, law enforcement agencies statewide dedicated an estimated 6,200 total enforcement hours to the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, including 20 fixed sobriety checkpoints. During the 3-week initiative, more than 1,196 impaired driving arrests were made and an additional 4,764 speeding summonses and 3,194 seat belt citations were written.

Impaired driving remains one of the biggest traffic safety threats in New Jersey and combatting it is a year-round priority in our state,” said Eric Heitmann, director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety.

“As we head into the final weeks of summer and the busy Labor Day driving weekend, our officers will be stepping up those efforts, working longer hours and increasing sobriety checks to keep intoxicated drivers off the road,” Heitmann said. “If you’re out there driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the odds are we’re going to stop you and arrest you.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Bloomfield Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com