GTPD to Participate in 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over'

The Gloucester Township Police Department is participating in the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" driving while intoxicated (DWI) enforcement campaign again this holiday season.

The campaign begins Friday and runs through Jan. 2.

More than 400 law-enforcement agencies in New Jersey are participating this holiday season.

The Police Department is one of 95 law-enforcement agencies to receive a $4,400 grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety to enhance its regular DWI enforcement efforts.

The grant will be used to support high-visibility patrols specifically targeting drunken drivers.

“Lots of folks will be out during this busy holiday season, enjoying themselves and the holiday festivities, and we want everyone to be safe on our roadways.” Division of Highway Traffic Safety Acting Director Gary Poedubicky said in a statement announcing more than $400,000 in grants statewide. “That’s why we will be stepping up enforcement to catch and arrest impaired drivers. If you are caught drinking and driving impaired, you will be arrested. No warnings. No excuses.”

In 2011, Gloucester Township Police arrested a total of 136 motorists on DWI charges. Police have nabbed 180 allegedly drunken drivers here so far in 2012.

Police don't want you to become a part of their 2012 statistics this holiday season. If you do go to a bar or a party where you will drink alcoholic beverages, police suggest you plan ahead with a designated driver, use mass transit, or call a friend or a taxi for a ride home.

If you're on the road and you encounter a suspected drunken driver, police advise you to stay as far as possible from the other vehicle. Without compromising your own safety, try to get the vehicle's license-plate number, then call 911 to report its make, model, color, exact location and direction of travel.

In 2011, there were 152 fatalities directly attributed to impaired driving in the state, according to the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, accounting for 24 percent of the 627 total crash fatalities.

In the winter of 2011, the holiday "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" crackdowns resulted in a total of 1,877 DWI arrests.