By: Nick Norlen
Beginning today and extending to Sept. 3, area law enforcement officers will be stepping up enforcement of impaired driving as part of New Jersey’s "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" 2007 crackdown.
The goal of the program is to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving through high-visibility enforcement and to arrest motorists who choose to drive while impaired.
The summer driving season, which ends with the Labor Day holiday, is traditionally a time for social gatherings that often include alcohol. Impaired drivers kill nearly 18,000 people on the nation’s roads each year.
In New Jersey in 2005, 34 percent of the 748 motor vehicle fatalities were alcohol-related.
The National Traffic Safety Administration reports that nearly 97 percent of Americans view drinking and driving by others as a threat to their families and themselves.
In fact, according to the NTSA, Americans support tougher enforcement and, in terms of important social issues, rank drunk driving ahead of health care, poverty, the environment and gun control.
If you plan to drink, choose a designated driver before you go out, or take mass transit or a taxi, police authorities advise.

