Lawrence Police To Crack Down On Drunk, Impaired Drivers

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — The annual crackdown on drunk and impaired drivers has begun in East Windsor.

A total of 110 New Jersey law enforcement agencies have received state grants to conduct sobriety checkpoints and have more officers on patrol.

Lawrence Township Police have received $7,000 for this initiative.

The annual "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign was announced last week and $540,680 was split between 108 police agencies and two county sheriff's offices.

The traffic safety blitz began on Aug. 16 and will run through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, with the goal of reducing the likelihood of serious or fatal crashes by getting alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers off the road.

Grant amounts range from $1,050 up to $8,750, according to a list of recipients provided by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety (HTS).

The money will provide overtime funds for "enhanced patrols and high-visibility sobriety checkpoints during this busy and often dangerous time," officials said.

During last summer's "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign, officers arrested 350 people for driving while intoxicated, wrote 1,220 speeding tickets, and issued 634 seat belt summonses, according to the AG's office and the HTS.

In the 2022 summer campaign, law enforcement agencies made a total of 169 impaired driving arrests and issued 348 seatbelt tickets, 240 distracted driving tickets, and 804 speeding tickets. Additionally, they wrote 609 other summonses for hazardous moving violations.

“Impaired driving is a direct threat to the safety of everyone on the road," said Michael J. Rizol Jr., Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "It’s a matter of responsibility: Each driver has a duty to make safe choices behind the wheel, for their own well-being and that of others."

In Mercer County East Windsor, Hamilton Township and Lawrence Township received the grants.