Stratford -- A cooperative
law enforcement effort among five towns in
Camden County designed to combat drunk driving
will begin this month and continue through
September 2010, Division of Highway Traffic
Safety (DHTS) Director Pam Fischer announced
today.
Funded by a federal grant
of $48,600 from DHTS, the effort allows five
Camden County towns - Stratford, Somerdale,
Hi-Nella, Laurel Springs and Magnolia - to
share law enforcement resources for drunk
driving saturation patrols along the White
Horse Pike. Under the initiative, officers
from all five jurisdictions will have the
ability to stop and arrest drunk drivers in
any of the participating towns. The cooperative
program will also enhance the efforts of the
smaller towns to apprehend drunk drivers by
increasing law enforcement visibility.
“By working together and pooling resources,
law enforcement is sending a strong message
that there’s zero tolerance for drunk
driving,” Fischer said. “Motorists
must take personal responsibility for their
actions behind the wheel, and that includes
not drinking and driving. The consequences
of drunk driving are tragic and can have a
lasting impact. This effort will greatly enhance
law enforcement efforts to combat DWI, and
ultimately, save lives.”
In 2008, 154 people were killed
as a result of alcohol-related crashes on
New Jersey’s highways, representing
approximately 26 percent of the 591 traffic
fatalities reported in the State. In Camden
County, 13 of the 44 fatalities in 2008 involved
alcohol.
A similar effort began in
Northern Burlington County last year and has
been successful in combating drunk driving.
Under the initiative, which ran for the first
time during the summer months in 2008, there
was a 28 percent reduction in alcohol-related
crashes in the five participating towns, compared
to the same time period the previous year.
In addition, 42 drunk driving arrests were
made as a result of the program in the five
Burlington County towns that participated
in the initiative and share the Route 130
and 206 corridors. Arrest numbers in the participating
towns were: Bordentown Twp., 18; Bordentown
City, 8; Mansfield, 3; Chesterfield, 8; and
North Hanover, 5. Of those individuals arrested
for DWI, 38 had a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)
of more than 0.15, nearly double the legal
limit. The program was run this past summer,
as well, concluding the end of September.
Additional
information on drunk driving prevention efforts,
as well as related traffic safety programs,
is available on the Division’s web site
at www.njsaferoads.com
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