Keeping The Roads Safe During the Holiday Season

Law enforcement officials from Marlboro Township, will be cracking down on drunk drivers as part of the annual holiday season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” statewide campaign. As part of the campaign, local and state law enforcement officials will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated through Jan. 2, according to the Marlboro Police Department.

A concentrated national effort, the campaign helps to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through high-visibility enforcement and public education tools.

“This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when impaired driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent," said Mayor Jonathan Hornik. “This initiative brings attention to the serious consequences of drunk driving and the grave danger those who choose to drink and drive pose to all who share the road with them.”

Last year in New Jersey, 19 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities were alcohol-related. Nationally, during the combined months of December in 2007-2011, there were 4,169 people killed in drunk driving crashes.

The campaign includes 400 law enforcement agencies. Of those agencies, 144 will receive grants of $4,400 from the 400 from the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, including Marlboro, according to the State Attorney General’s Office.

The Division of Highway Traffic Safety offers the following advice to ensure a safe holiday travel season for those who choose to drink alcohol: 

•   Take mass transit, a taxi or ask a sober friend to drive you home.

•   Spend the night rather than get behind the wheel.

•   Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 to report a drunk or aggressive driver.

•   Always buckle up, every ride, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle. It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.

•   If you’re 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. 


For more, please contact Sgt. Joseph Lenge at the Marlboro Township Police Division of Traffic and Safety at 732-536-0100 ext. 1547 or email jlenge@marlboropd.org.