Cops: 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over'

Hopatcong Police will be cracking down on drunk drivers for the annual holiday season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” statewide campaign starting on Friday, according to a report released by Lt. Thomas Kmetz.

The campaign will run until Jan. 2, where both local and state law enforcement officials will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for drivers who may be driving under the influence, the report said.

The campaign, launched in 1999, will raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving during one of the busiest travel times of the year by displaying posters, banners and other signs through public education tools.

According to the report, 152 people were killed in the state last year from alcohol-impaired crashes. Those accidents account for about 25 percent of the 627 traffic fatalities reported from 2011.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled campaign offer the following advice:

• Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity is held.
• Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 on their cell phones to report a drunk driver.
• Always buckle-up, every ride.  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.

Police also ask motorists to subscribe to the pledge of the Ensign John R. Elliot HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers: Drive sober, be a designated driver and don’t let friends drive drunk.  

The effort brings local businesses, community groups, law enforcement agencies, and schools together to combat drunk driving. 

The campaign started in the state by the Elliot family, who lost their son, John, in a head-on collision with a drunk driver.