DWI Checkpoint Coming to Morris County Next Week

Numerous police departments in Morris County have been granted funds to participate in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign between Aug. 21 and Sept. 7, which will help those squads add patrols to the roads.

One of those squads is the Mendham Township Police Department, which received a $5,000 grant for the two-week initiative. The department has decided to set up a Driving While Intoxicated checkpoint as part of the campaign as well.

The checkpoint will be set up on Route 24 in the area of Sunrise Lake and Tempe Wick Road between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m., police announced.

“More than 10,000 people are killed in the United States each year in alcohol impaired driving crashes, and these crashes cost our society nearly $50 billion annually,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in a statement. “There is a zero tolerance message for this campaign. If drivers are caught operating their vehicle while impaired they will be arrested.”

• 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.