Holiday Season Drunk Driving Crackdown in Englishtown

The Englishtown Police Department will be participating in New Jersey's "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign this holiday season, Lt. Peter Cooke has announced. 

The campaign begins on Friday, Dec. 6 and runs through Jan. 2 in New Jersey. Police will be conducting saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints during this time period to check if motorists are driving while intoxicated. 

The "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign is a nation-wide effort which works to raise awareness about the perils of drunk driving through highly visible enforcement and education. The initiative showcases the serious consequences of drinking and driving as well as the significant dangers an intoxicated driver has to themselves and to the other drivers on the road. 

This campaign takes place during the holiday season because drunk driving increases by nearly 10 percent this time of year, according to the Division of Highway and Traffic Safety. In 2012, 19 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities were alcohol-related in New Jersey.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over 2013 Year End Holiday Statewide Crackdown offer the following advice:

• Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity 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.