Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Drunk Driving Crackdown

Beginning December 5, 2011 and ending January 2, 2012, the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety will be cracking down on impaired drivers on New Jersey’s roadways. The goal of the crackdown  is prevention, not arrests. It will include highly visible sobriety checkpoints throughout the state; it will also send a clear message to convince drivers that the chances of getting caught driving drunk in New Jersey are too high to risk.

Under New Jersey law, a blood alcohol level of 0.08% constitutes being “over the limit.”

What can you do to prevent getting pulled over for drunk driving?

1)      Don’t risk it. If you plan to drive, don’t drink.

2)      Choose a designated driver.

3)      Take mass transit, a taxicab or ask a friend to drive you home if you didn’t plan in advance.

4)      Spend the night where the activity is being held.

Don’t become a statistic  ̶  In 2009

• 8,976 people 21 to 34 years old were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those, 47 percent (4,206) were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.
• Alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes was four times higher at night than during the day (37 percent versus 9 percent).
• Thirty-one percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes on weekends were alcohol-impaired, compared with 16 percent during the weekdays.
• 32 percent of fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes involved drivers or motorcycle riders with BACs of .08 or above — an average of one fatality every 48 minutes.
• The percentage of drivers with BACs of .08 or above involved in fatal crashes was highest for motorcycle riders (29 percent), followed by drivers of light trucks (23 percent) and passenger cars (23 percent).
• Forty-three percent of the 2,291 motorcycle riders who died in single-vehicle crashes had BACs of .08 or above.
• The age groups of 45 to 49 and 40 to 44 had the highest percentages of impaired (BAC of .08 or higher) motorcycle riders killed in fatal crashes — 41 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

Are Sobriety Checkpoints Legal?

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1990 (Michigan v. Sitz) upheld the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints. The Court held that the interest in reducing alcohol-impaired driving was sufficient to justify the brief intrusion of a sobriety checkpoint. If conducted properly, sobriety checkpoints do not constitute illegal search and seizure in most states.

What are the consequences of a DWI conviction in New Jersey?

New Jersey DWI FAQs

If you or someone you know has been charged with a DWI in New Jersey, contact the New Jersey DWI Lawyers at Garces & Grabler, P.C.