2 Charged With Open Alcohol Containers In Lakewood Crackdown

LAKEWOOD, NJ — Two people are facing significant fines after they were ticketed for having open containers of alcohol, just two of more than 250 summonses issued during a 10-day traffic enforcement detail in Lakewood, the Ocean County prosecutor's office said Tuesday.

The traffic safety crackdown, which ran from Dec. 7 through Dec. 16, also resulted in two people arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, but just one speeding ticket, according to statistics provided Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

There were 22 summonses issued for failure to wear a seat belt, and nine people were cited for failure to properly restrain their children, Della Fave said.

Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to a higher likelihood of injury and death in a traffic accident, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2015, of the 35,092 people killed in motor vehicle crashes, 48 percent were not wearing seat belts. In 2015 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 13,941 lives and could have saved an additional 2,814 people if they had been wearing seat belts, the NHTSA says.

The enforcement detail was prompted as a result of a spike in fatal accidents in Lakewood this year. Ironically, it was announced the day before a pedestrian was struck and killed on Shorrock Street, which sits on the border of Brick and Lakewood. Irene D. Perosi, 53, was hit while crossing the road about 5 p.m. on Dec. 5, Della Fave said.

The enforcement detail, which included officers from the Lakewood Police Department, New Jersey State Police and the Ocean County prosecutor's office, stopped 278 vehicles and issued 256 summonses, including 44 equipment violations, 89 unspecified moving violations and 53 "non-moving" violations, he said. It was funded through a grant, he said.

Under New Jersey state law, if you are caught with an open container of alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle on a public road in New Jersey, you can be charged with a fine of $200 plus $33 in court costs and a $6 surcharge for a first offense, Della Fave said. For a second offense, you can be charged $250 or 10 days of community service, plus $33 in court costs and a $6 surcharge. But it does not carry points or insurance surcharges, he said.

Photo via Ocean County Prosecutor's Office