by Davy James, Staff Writer
With the time of proms and graduation celebrations approaching, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has begun setting up sobriety checkpoints throughout the county to ensure the safety of high school students over the next few months.
”The purpose of the checkpoints is to remove intoxicated drivers from the road, educate people to the dangers of drinking and driving, and deter drivers from getting behind the wheel of their vehicles after having consumed alcohol or drugs, and the overall goal is to ensure that prom and graduation celebrants arrive safely,” said Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch, who supervises the checkpoints, via press release.
Members of the various municipal police departments in the county and investigators from the county prosecutor’s Fatal Crash Investigations Unit will be randomly stationed at locations throughout the county to conduct the checkpoints. The program is financed by a $29,975 grant from the Office of Highway Traffic Safety.
Last weekend, the first of the campaign, three people were arrested and charged in Carteret with driving while intoxicated and 83 summonses were issued for a variety of motor vehicle offenses that were discovered at the checkpoints, according to the release.
Motorists who approached the checkpoints were stopped and given literature on the hazards and consequences of impaired driving. Of those stopped, 150 drivers were held at a staging area for further examination before being released, cited or arrested.
First time offenders could lose their driving privileges for at least seven months and face a variety of fines, insurance surcharges and legal fees that could total up to $15,000, according to the release.
The sober driving campaign, now in its 24th year, will run through the end of June. Since its inception, police have yet to find an impaired teenage driver at any of the prom and graduation checkpoints, according to the release. Mr. Sewitch said that fact is indicative of the program’s success.
In 2008 there were 42 fatal crashes in the county throughout the entire year, with 13 of the crashes involving alcohol or drugs and 8 of those 13 involving drivers between the ages of 17 and 21, according to release.
”When our children drink and drive, they are at risk to kill or seriously injure themselves or others,” said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan, via press release. “Hopefully, this is all the motivation that we need to ensure that we, as parents, act responsibly when addressing the issue of alcohol use during prom and graduation season.”

