Labor Day DWI Crackdown Underway By Somerset County Police

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Somerset and Hunterdon County law enforcement officers are participating in the 2023 “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Statewide Labor Day Crackdown that will run through Sept. 4.

The campaign kicked off on Aug. 16 where officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols looking for motorists who may be driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 11,654 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2020 that involved an alcohol-impaired driver. On average, more than 10,000 people were killed each year from 2016 to 2020, and one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 45 minutes
in 2020.

"We want our community members to understand that it’s our first priority to keep people safe, so we’re asking everyone to plan ahead if they know they’ll be out drinking," said Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald. "We need commitment from our community members that they’ll keep the streets free of drunk drivers so that everyone can have a safe summertime and Labor Day holiday. This is an awareness effort to get the message out that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives. Let’s make this a partnership between law enforcement and drivers: Help us protect the community and put an end to this senseless behavior."

During the 2020 Labor Day holiday period (6 p.m. Sept. 4 – 5:59 a.m. Sept. 8), there were 530 crash fatalities nationwide.

• Forty-six percent of those fatalities involved drivers who had been drinking (.01+ BAC).More than one-third (38%) of the fatalities involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ BAC), and one-fourth (25%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Age is a particularly risky factor: Among drivers between the ages of 21 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2020, 44% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher.

"Drunk driving is not acceptable behavior, especially when there are so many safe alternatives to get you home safely," said McDonald.

Somerset/Hunterdon County Traffic Safety Advocates recommends these safe alternatives to drinking and driving:

• Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride service to get home safely.
• Use local taxis, rideshares or a friend.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 9-1-1.
• Do you have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.

For more information on impaired driving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.