By John Saccenti Staff Writer
PRINCETON — The crackdown on drunk driving is moving into its Labor Day weekend finale with Princeton Borough police reporting 10 DWI arrests as of Thursday.
Since Aug. 20, police departments in Princeton, West Windsor, Plainsboro, Montgomery, Lawrence and other New Jersey communities have been putting extra officers on patrol in an Over-the-Limit-Under-Arrest initiative funded by grants of $4,400 per department from the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "There is simply no excuse to drink and drive," said Pam Fischer, director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, which funds the initiative, in a press release. "Even one drink can impair your judgment and reaction time, creating a potentially dangerous situation not only for yourself, but everyone on the road."
A national effort, the campaign works to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through enforcement and education. As part of the initiative, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to local law enforcement agencies to run the two-week program.
In 2009, 185 people were killed in New Jersey as a result of alcohol-related crashes. That’s 31 percent of the 583 traffic fatalities that year. In addition, 67 of those fatalities occurred ruing the summer travel season.
In Princeton Borough, the department received $4,400 to cover the cost of overtime for officers working 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. As of Wednesday, those officers had 10 DWI arrests and stopped 14 people wanted on warrants. Officers also wrote summonses for 212 motor vehicle violations and had six felony arrests, according to Lt. Sharon Papp. Enforcement data was not yet available from the Princeton Township Police Department.
"It’s a positive thing because it’s not coming from the taxpayers, it’s a nice grant, and it’s also putting money back into the community," said Lt. Papp. "We’re not only getting drunks off the road, but we’re also writing summonses, which comes back to the borough."
Princeton Borough uses roving patrol cars where officers are basically seeking drunken drivers.
In Princeton Township, the program provided enough money to cover 88 hours of overtime, said Sgt. Robert Toole.
He said the department has stopped several drunken drivers, but not necessarily as a result of the overtime patrols.
"We do it at varying times, trying to get a wider coverage area time wise," he said. "We’re trying to get as many officers out there to help locate drunk drivers."
Sgt. Toole said programs such as Over the Limit, Under the Influence help make people more aware of the dangers of drunken driving.
"Any type of public awareness education hopefully makes them think twice about driving after drinking," he said. "We’re hoping it has a positive effect on people out there. I wish it was a year-round thing, but we’ll take what we can get and take it from there."
jsaccenti
@centraljersey.com.

