Holiday party-goers, beware – the East Windsor Township and Hightstown Borough police departments are cracking down on intoxicated drivers.
With grants in hand, the two police departments are stepping up enforcement aimed at intoxicated drivers. The grants, which cover additional costs that may include overtime, were awarded by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
The annual statewide campaign – “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” – kicks off on Dec. 7 and runs through New Year’s Day. The goal is to find intoxicated drivers and get them off the road.
During the year-end holiday crackdown in 2017, the East Windsor Township Police Department pulled over four drivers who were intoxicated and another driver who was under the influence of drugs.
While the focus is on driving while intoxicated, East Windsor police also issued seven summonses for seat-belt violations, three summonses for child safety seat violations and four summonses for speeding.
East Windsor police officers also issued five summonses apiece for reckless driving and using a cellphone or texting, 41 summonses for careless driving and 40 summonses for driving with a suspended driver’s license.
In Hightstown Borough, police stopped five drivers who were intoxicated. They issued two summonses for seat-belt violations, one summons for child safety seat violations and 81 summonses for speeding.
Hightstown police also issued six summonses for reckless driving, 11 summonses for cellphone or texting violations, 17 summonses for careless driving and five summonses for driving with a suspended driver’s license.
Mayors Janice S. Mironov and Lawrence D. Quattrone of East Windsor Township and Hightstown Borough, respectively, support the holiday season crackdown.
“The state grant puts a focus on exercising good judgment while driving and assists our police in keeping our local streets safe for everyone during the December holiday season,” Mayor Mironov said.
There is no reason for anyone to drive when they are intoxicated, Mayor Quattrone said, adding that “if you drive (while intoxicated), you will be caught.”
Every 30 minutes, someone in the United States is killed by a driver who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. It amounts to 50 people every day who lose their lives to an impaired driver.
To avoid being arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, the state agency recommends not drinking – or at least, to designate someone in the group to stay sober and to be the designated driver.
But party-goers who find they may have over-indulged can either spend the night where the party or activity was held, or ask a friend to drive them home if mass transportation or a taxi cab are not available.
A first-time arrest for driving while intoxicated – meaning a blood alcohol content level of between .08 percent and .10 percent – brings an assortment of penalties, starting with a fine of $250 to $400.
Penalties may include a jail sentence of up to 30 days, a three-month suspension of driving privileges, at least six hours per day for two consecutive days in an “intoxicated driver resource center,” and a $1,000 insurance surcharge for three years.
The penalties are stiffer for subsequent offenses, including a steeper fine, a longer driver’s license suspension term, and for the installation of an ignition interlock device for one year to three years after one’s driver’s license is restored.
