Extra Holiday DWI Patrols Coming To Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head Via Grants

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — The Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head Police departments will have extra patrols on the roads through the holiday season to crack down on impaired driving, funded by a state grants.

The annual statewide "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement crackdown aims to raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and reduce crashes caused by motorists driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the busy holiday travel season.

Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head each are to receive $7,000 grants from the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety to help pay for overtime for saturation patrols and high-visibility sobriety checkpoints throughout the state.

"Being a responsible driver is one of the simplest ways to ensure a safe and happy holiday season for everyone. Our Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is aimed at raising public awareness and saving lives," state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. "Drivers who put lives at risk by getting behind the wheel drunk or high will face serious consequences."

New Jersey State Police statistics for 2023 showed 574 fatal crashes on the state's roads that killed 606 people. In more than 31 percent of those fatal crashes (182), a driver tested positive for alcohol and/or drugs, state police said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s most recent data, of the 42,514 motor vehicle fatalities across the United States in 2022, more than 31 percent (13,524) involved alcohol-impaired driving.

"What makes these impaired driving fatalities so tragic is that they’re 100 percent preventable," said Michael J. Rizol Jr., director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "Our Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign provides law enforcement agencies throughout New Jersey with funding to help prevent these tragedies by targeting impaired drivers and removing them from the road so everyone can make it home safely during the holidays."

Last year's Drive Sober campaign resulted in 603 impaired driving arrests, 1,034 speeding summonses, and 557 seat belt summonses, authorities said.