BY Amy Batista, Special Writer
CRANBURY — Police officers will be launching a two-week “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign starting today.
The department received a $4,400 grant from the state’s Division of Highway Traffic Safety to raise awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence, according to Lt. Frank Dillane.
While some law enforcement agencies will be conducting sobriety checkpoints as part of the campaign, Lt. Dillane said that there are just 15 officers in the department and it is just not possible to put that number of units out for the details.
”We don’t have the officers to conduct the checkpoints,” Mr. Dillane said. “We certainly can’t deploy that many off-duty officers to run a checkpoint.”
Lt. Dillane said the department has 25 arrests for intoxicated driving so far this year compared to 35 for all of 2011.
Lt. Dillane said the campaign has changed names several times during the years from “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose” to “Over the Limit Under Arrest.”
According to the state, summertime and the end-of-year holidays are some of the deadliest times on American roads due to impaired driving.
Officers are increasing visibility during this time to help deter people from driving under the influence, and will be making arrests and issuing tickets to those violating the law, according to the state agency.
The two-week campaign runs from Aug. 17 through Sept. 3, and will primarily focus during the hours of 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., which is the allotted time period the grant allows to fund operations, according to Lt. Dillane.
”If there is an arrest made at 3 a.m. and it goes after 4 a.m., then the grant will only pay up till 4 a.m. towards the department overtime after that,” Lt. Dillane said.
Each year nearly 11,000 people die on the road due to drunk driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
In order to stop this deadly epidemic, law enforcement in every state, most towns and cities will be cracking down on drunk driving from now through Labor Day, according to the website.
A concentrated national effort, the campaign helps to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through high-visibility enforcement and public education tools, including posters, banners and mobile video display signs, according to the website.
Launched nationally in 1999, the program works to combat drunk driving during some of the busiest travel times of the year, including the Labor Day holiday period, according to a press release from the state agency.
”Many people believe that after a few drinks they’re still safe to drive,” said Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety in a press release. “Even one drink can impair your judgment and reaction time, putting not only yourself, but everyone on the road, in danger.”
According to the press release, in 2010, alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 20 percent of New Jersey’s motor vehicle fatalities.
As part of the initiative to lower that number, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to run the two-week campaign.

