Somerset County Sheriff's Officers to Enforce Statewide 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' Campaign Through Labor Day

By Somerset County Public Information Office

Somerset County Sheriff’s Officers will be cracking down on impaired drivers as part of the 2015 Labor Day Statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. Local and state law enforcement officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols, looking for motorists who may be driving while impaired, through Labor Day, Sept. 7.

“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” is a national campaign designed to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through high-visibility enforcement and public-education tools, including posters, banners and mobile video-display signs. Launched across the United States in 1999, the program works to combat impaired driving during the busy summer travel season.

“More than 10,000 people are killed in the United States each year in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, and these crashes cost our society nearly $50 billion annually,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “There is a zero tolerance message for this campaign. If drivers are caught operating their vehicle while impaired they will be arrested.”

“Impaired driving is completely preventable,” said Sheriff Frank Provenzano. “All it takes is a little planning. We want the public to remember to drink responsibly and drive sober.”

Law enforcement agencies participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” 2015 crackdown offer the following advice:
If you plan to drink:

• Designate a driver who will not be drinking alcohol that day or evening
• Take mass transit, a taxi or ask a sober friend to drive you home
• Spend the night where the activity is held.
• Don’t walk if you are intoxicated. The safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member drive you to your doorstep

Residents are encouraged to report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 to report a drunk or aggressive driver. And, always buckle up, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.

In 2013 alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 27 percent of New Jersey’s motor vehicle fatalities. As part of the initiative, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to run this campaign.