Brick Police On Lookout For Drunk Drivers Over Memorial Day Weekend

BRICK, NJ -- Brick Township police will have more patrols on the streets over this coming Memorial Day weekend, on the lookout for drivers who are impaired.

With holiday gatherings and the unofficial beginning of summer at the Jersey Shore, law enforcement agencies around the state are stepping up enforcement of drunken and impaired driving. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced increased patrol efforts in April as high school prom season got underway. Those efforts include DWI checkpoints, those specific dates and towns were not announced.

Brick police and other law enforcement also are keeping an eye on seatbelt usage, under the "Click It or TIcket" campaign.

“The tremendous added volume of summer shore traffic and all our area high schools hosting senior proms calls for increased vigilance by law enforcement, and that will be the focus over the coming months to keep motorists safe," Prosecutor Joseph Coronato said. "We ask that drivers do their part by driving responsibly and making smart choices behind the wheel every day of the year.” 

In addition to targeting drunk drivers, county checkpoints include two drug recognition experts to detect those under the influence of narcotics. 

Each year impaired drivers are responsible for about a third of the deaths occurring on Ocean County roadways, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office. Last year Ocean County had 38 DWI fatalities, moving from second highest among the state's 21 counties to fifth highest.

"There is no cause for celebration," he said. "Even one fatality is too many."

The checkpoint program, which is funded in part by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, will be conducted by local police agencies in conjunction with detectives from the prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s department K-9 Unit focusing on both intoxicated and drug impaired drivers.  The program is operated/coordinated by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Vehicular Homicide Unit.

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