Princeton Police To Crack Down On St. Patrick's Day Drunk Driving

PRINCETON, NJ — Before you head out this weekend to celebrate the St. Patrick's Day festivities make sure to designate a driver. Princeton Police will be stepping up enforcement for the holiday weekend.

Princeton Police Sgt. Frederick R. Williams confirmed the department is adding more enforcement to curtail drunk and impaired driving for the St. Patrick's Day weekend.

More than 10,000 people died in drunken driving crashes during a 10-year period between the years of 2006 to 2016, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Following are a few more sobering statistics:

• It is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher – yet, in 2016 one person was killed every 50 minutes in a drunk driving crash in the United States.
• The average cost of driving while under the influence (DUI) is approximately $10,000.
• Drunk drivers face jail time, loss of their drivers' licenses, higher insurance rates, and unanticipated expenses such as attorneys' fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, and lost wages due to time off from work.
• Refusing to take a breath-alcohol test may result in an immediate arrest, the loss of your driver's license at the time you are pulled over and your vehicle may be impounded.
• There are other repercussions such as embarrassment, humiliation, and the consequences of telling family, friends and employers about your arrest.
• If you injure or kill someone in a drunk driving crash, it is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life.

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