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Brick Police Awarded Grant To Crack Down On Drunk Driving
By Keith Hagarty
If you're drinking this holiday season and decide to get behind the wheel, the Brick Township Police Department will be watching.
To increase impaired driving enforcement during the holiday season, Brick's police force was recently awarded a grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety (NJDHTS) as part of the initiative known as Over the Limit, Under Arrest 2007 Year End Crackdown.
"Our police officers are going to be out in the community working to make sure that the holiday season is a safe one in Brick Township," said Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis. "They are going to be extra vigilant in looking for people driving while drunk. If you are going to drink in Brick Township this holiday season, be smart. Don't drive."
Created last year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), the national Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest impaired driving crackdown is a prevention program focusing on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through national advertising and publicity.
Upon its introduction last year, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino said the program was developed to provide local police and law enforcement agencies with additional funding to curb the threat of drunk driving.
"Drunk driving is one of America's deadliest crimes," said Cino. "Our message is simple: if you drive drunk, you will be arrested. We do mean business. If they don't get off the streets voluntarily, we're going to take them off the street."
Cino said the NHTSA encourages personal responsibility and has pushed for tougher laws and penalties against drunk drivers.
According to the NHTSA's latest figures on drunk driving in 2005, 39 percent of all traffic deaths in the U.S. involved alcohol. That same year, there were 12,945 fatalities in crashes involving motor vehicle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter or higher, the legal limit throughout the United States.
In New Jersey for 2005, 252 of the 748 motor vehicle fatalities, or 34 percent, were alcohol-related.
"The holiday season is a time of joy, not tragedy," said Pam Fischer, director of the NJDHTS. "The law enforcement community and safety organizations of the state are committed to eliminating impaired driving from our roads, so that we may all enjoy a safe and happy holiday season."
The Brick Township Police Department and other law enforcement agencies participating in "Over the Limit Under Arrest 2007 Year End Crackdown" offer the following advice for a safe holiday season: • Be responsible and don't risk it. • If you plan to drink, choose a designated driver before going out. • Realize before going out that every drink you have makes it more difficult to know when you've had too much to drive. • Take a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home. • Spend the night where the activity is held. • Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. • Finally, the best defense against an impaired driver is to always buckle up.
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