These 158 N.J. Towns Have DWI Crackdowns/Checkpoints Until Labor Day

If you don't stay sober while driving in New Jersey, you're going to pay the price.

That's because 158 New Jersey towns and several sheriff's offices have gotten $5,000 each to set up drunk driving crackdowns and checkpoints until Labor Day (see list below).

From Aug. 19 through Sept. 5, law enforcement agencies through New Jersey will be joining the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the high-visibility "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" crackdown campaign.

During this time, officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols, looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated, according to authorities.

In addition to high-visibility enforcement, the campaign also helps to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through public education tools including posters, banners and mobile video display signs.

Here are the 158 towns that each got $5,000 to participate in the crackdown:

• Aberdeen
• Absecon
• Allentown
• Andover
• Barnegat
• Barrington
• Bay Head
• Berkeley
• Berlin
• Bloomfield
• Bloomingdale
• Boonton Twp
• Brielle
• Burlington Twp
• Butler
• Carneys Point
• Carteret
• Cherry Hill
• Chester Twp
• Cinnaminson
• Cliffside Park
• Clifton
• Clinton Twp
• Cranford
• Deal
• Delran
• Denville
• Dunellen
• East Brunswick
• East Rutherford
• East Windsor
• Eatontown
• Edison
• Egg Harbor Twp
• Elmwood Park
• Englishtown
• Evesham
• Ewing PD $5,000.00
• Fairfield
• Florham Park
• Fort Lee
• Franklin Lakes
• Franklin (Sussex)
• Galloway
• Garfield
• Garwood
• Gloucester
• Gloucester Twp
• Guttenberg
• Haddonfield
• Hamilton (Mercer)
• Hamilton (Atlantic)
• Hammonton
• Harrison
• Harvey Cedars
• Haworth
• Hawthorne
• Hazlet
• Hoboken
• Hopatcong
• Howell
• Irvington
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Keansburg
• Kearny
• Lakehurst
• Lakewood
• Lambertville
• Lincoln Park
• Linden
• Little Falls
• Longport
• Lower Twp
• Mahwah
• Manchester
• Mansfield (Burlington)
• Mansfield (Warren)
• Mantoloking
• Marlboro
• Medford
• Mendham Twp
• Monroe (Middlesex)
• Montclair
• Montvale
• Morris Twp
• Mount Holly
• Mount Laurel
• Mount Olive
• Mullica
• Neptune Twp
• New Brunswick
• New Hanover
• North Bergen Twp
• North Brunswick
• North Caldwell
• North Wildwood
• Northfield
• Northvale
• Ocean Gate
• Ocean (Monmouth)
• Oceanport
• Ogdensburg
• Old Bridge
• Palmyra
• Park Ridge
• Parsippany-Troy Hills
• Passaic
• Pemberton
• Pennsauken
• Pine Beach
• Pine Hill
• Plains
• Plainsboro
• Pleasantville
• Point Pleasant Beach
• Rahway
• Randolph
• Ridgefield Park
• River Edge
• Riverdale
• Riverside
• Rockaway
• Rockaway Twp
• Roselle Park
• Roselle
• Rutherford
• Salem
• Sea Bright
• Secaucus
• Somers Point
• South Brunswick
• South Orange
• South River
• Spotswood
• Spring Lake Heights
• Stratford
• Teaneck
• Toms River
• Union Beach
• Union City
• Union
• Vernon
• Voorhees
• Wall
• Wanaque
• Washington (Bergen)
• Washington Twp (Warren)
• Wayne
• West Milford
• West New York
• West Windsor
• Westampton
• Wildwood
• Winslow
• Woodbridge
• Woodcliff Lake
• Woodland Park

UPDATE: These towns and agencies will also be participating:

• Bedminster
• Bernards
• Bound Brook
• Branchburg
• Bridgewater
• Far Hills
• Flemington
• Franklin (H)
• Franklin (S)
• Frenchtown
• Green Brook
• High Bridge
• Hillsborough
• Manville
• Montgomery
• North Plainfield
• Peapack Gladstone
• Plumstead
• Readington
• Somerville
• South Bound Brook
• Warren
• Somerset County Sheriff’s Office

Launched nationally in 1999, the program works to combat drunk driving during some of the busiest travel times of the year, including the Labor Day holiday period, according to authorities.

As part of the program, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to law enforcement agencies to help run the campaign.

Some recent statistics include the following:

• Approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers. In 2013, there were 10,076 people killed in these preventable crashes.

• During the Labor Day holidays of 2009-2013, there were nearly 500 drunk driving fatalities nationwide.

• In 2013 alone, 200 children 14 or younger were killed in alcohol impaired driving crashes. Seventy-one percent of the time, it was the child’s own driver who was drunk.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over crackdown offer the following advice:

• If you plan to drink, designate a driver, someone who will not drink alcohol, before going out.

• Take mass transit, a taxi or ask a sober friend to drive you home.

• Spend the night where the activity is held.

• Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 to report a drunk or aggressive driver.

• Always buckle up, every ride, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.

• If you’re intoxicated and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive you to your doorstep.