3-Week Drunk Driving Crackdown Begins In 12 Morris County Towns

MORRISTOWN - Morris County will have 12 police departments cracking down on drunken driving over the next three weeks, thanks to grants in the year-end Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

The three-week crackdown, which begins Thursday, Dec. 11 and runs through Jan. 1, 2016, will include the following police departments, all of whom have received $5,000 grants to put toward extra patrol hours.

Boonton Police Department

• Chester Township Police Department
• Denville Police Department
• Jefferson Police Department
• Morris Township Police Department
• Mount Olive Police Department
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department
• Randolph Police Department
• Riverdale Police Department
• Rockaway Police Department
• Roxbury Police Department
• Wharton Police Department

In addition, a Driving While Intoxicated checkpoint will be established in Mt. Olive during the weekend of Dec. 12 to 14. Details on times or specific location were not made available.

In 2014, 27-percent of motor vehicle fatalities in New Jersey were alcohol-related. More than 10,000 people die each year from drunk driving crashes in the United States, police said.

Police offer the following tips:

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