A Lesson On Why Not To Drive Drunk

TOMS RIVER, NJ -- For every sip of alcohol, your reaction time slows down. Your senses dull. Your ability to focus on what you’re doing lessens.

It’s like walking into fog, half asleep. You can’t see more than a few yards ahead of you -- and you may not even care.

That fog caused by alcohol can be deadly, especially if you choose to drive.

That’s the message that Ocean County authorities -- from law enforcement to the health department -- tried to drive home Saturday at during the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center’s annual “3-D” event at the Ocean County Mall. The event aims to educate teens about the seriousness of the dangers of driving while impaired -- and impairment starts with that first sip.

Drunken driving kills more than 10,000 people every year. In New Jersey in 2013, alcohol impaired fatalities accounted for 27 percent of all motor vehicle-related deaths in New Jersey. During the five-year period of 2009-2013, more than 800 people were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes in the state. There were 54,000 alcohol-related crashes in New Jersey alone during that five-year period, and 20,000 of those resulted in injuries.

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato addressed attendees about the dangers of drinking and driving. Seniors from the Toms River High School North organization Students Against Destructive Behavior demonstrated the effects of impaired driving, offering “Fatal Vision” goggles for participants to try to see just how quickly -- and how dangerously -- those effects can be felt.

The goal: to convince teens -- and adults -- that even one drink can lead to significant impairment.

“If you’ve been drinking, don’t drive,” is the message of law enforcement.

(Prosecutor Joseph Coronato addresses the crowd. Participants try on the “Fatal Vision“ goggles to see what it’s like to be impaired. Credits: Glenn Miller, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office)