'Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over' In West Windsor: Police

WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, NJ — Happy holidays, and make sure you buckle up. It's not just Santa you have to worry about; the police also have their eyes on you.

West Windsor police will participate in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign from Dec. 7, 2018, through Jan. 1, 2019, the police department announced this week.

Local and state law enforcement officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols, looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated. “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” is a national campaign started in 1999 that combats drunk driving during the busy traffic times, including year-end holiday season.

“During the last five years New Jersey has experienced nearly 38,000 alcohol involved crashes resulting in more than 700 fatalities,” the police department said in its announcement. “This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when impaired driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent.”

Last year, 20 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities in New Jersey were alcohol-related. Nationally, more than 10,000 people die each year in drunk driving crashes. The monetary cost related to these fatalities is about $37 billion annually. Police also provided the following safety tips:

• Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity or party is held.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.
• Always buckle-up, every ride. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.
• If you are 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 or escort you to your doorstep.
• Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.

For more information about the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, visit www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.

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