Watchung, Green Brook To Crack Down on Drunk Driving Super Bowl Weekend

WATCHUNG/GREEN BROOK, NJ — Watchung and Green Brook Police will be among the many law enforcement agencies cracking down on drunk driving during Super Bowl LI on Sunday.

This is part of Hunterdon and Somerset County highway safety and law enforcement officials and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA)“Super Bowl Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk” campaign.

A driver is considered alcohol-impaired with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, but even a small amount of alcohol can impair judgment and reaction times enough to make driving unsafe. According to NHTSA, in 2015, 10,265 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in the United States that year were killed in crashes that involved an impaired driver, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

Throughout the afternoon and evening on Feb. 5, law enforcement agencies in Hunterdon and Somerset Counties will be conducting supplemental patrols on the lookout for impaired drivers. The extra patrols are funded through a grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.

Additionally, specially trained officers will be available to assist with drivers that are under the influence of drugs rather than alcohol.

Fans that are impaired are encouraged to have a designated sober driver, use public transportation, or call a taxi or rideshare program.

NHTSA also has a SaferRide mobile app that can find your location and help call a taxi or a friend to pick them up.

Designated sober drivers can tweet @NHTSAgov during Super Bowl LI to be featured on NHTSA’s national Wall of Fame.

Law enforcement from the following agencies will be participating in this campaign:

• Bernards Township
• Bound Brook
• Branchburg Township
• Bridgewater Township
• Clinton Township
• Flemington
• Franklin Township – Somerset
• Green Brook Township
• Hillsborough Township
• Manville
• Montgomery Township
• North Plainfield
• Peapack Gladstone
• Readington Township
• Warren Township
• Watchung
• Somerset County Sheriff’s Office

(Image via Shutterstock)

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