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Trenton
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Division of Highway Traffic Safety Director
Pam Fischer today announced that law enforcement
agencies throughout New Jersey will be conducting
additional patrols and sobriety checkpoints
from August 17 through September 3, 2007,
as part of the national “Over the
Limit, Under Arrest” impaired driving
initiative.
According to Attorney General Milgram, drunk
driving is one of the most commonly committed
crimes, taking the lives of nearly 50 people
across the country everyday.
“This
concentrated law enforcement effort will
send a strong message to the motoring public
that we are very serious when we say, if
you are over the limit, you are under arrest,”
Attorney General Milgram said. “While
we are heightening awareness of the dangers
of drinking and driving during this two-week
effort, motorists should also know that
in New Jersey, law enforcement is committed
to combating impaired driving and keeping
motorists safe from the tragedies often
associated with this behavior year-round.”
As part of this national initiative, the
Division of Highway Traffic Safety is providing
grants of $5,000 each to 186 local law enforcement
agencies throughout the State. The New Jersey
State Police will also participate in this
effort.
Division Director Fischer noted that law
enforcement officers will be out in full-force
during the program’s two-week run,
looking for any driver that may have a blood-alcohol
concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.
“New
Jersey’s drunk driving laws are among
the toughest in the nation,” Fischer
stated. “This initiative increases
the public’s awareness not only about
the serious fines and penalties drunk drivers
can face, but the grave danger these motorists
pose to all individuals on the road.”
Launched
nationally in 1999, the program works to
combat drunk driving during some of the
busiest travel times of the year.
“The
last two weeks of summer are traditionally
a time when highways are filled with motorists
traveling to vacation destinations, including
the Jersey Shore,” Fischer said. “Last
year, 240 people were killed as a result
of alcohol-related crashes on New Jersey
highways. That number represents 31 percent
of the 770 traffic fatalities reported in
the state. In addition, 63 of those alcohol-related
fatalities occurred during the summer travel
season. The statistics, which represent
real families and real lives that have been
changed forever, reinforce the critical
need for continued efforts to keep the drunk
driver off New Jersey’s roadways.”
Additional information on the effort, as
well as a list of those police agencies
receiving grants from the Division of Highway
Traffic Safety to implement the program,
are available on the Division’s Web
site, www.NJSafeRoads.com.
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