Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey has announced that police departments in Middlesex County will be participating in a yearlong crackdown on impaired driving by randomly setting up sobriety checkpoints to ensure the public’s safety.
The checkpoints are being made possible through a $36,300 grant to cover the costs of salaries and equipment for the departments that are participating in the program through September of 2017, according to a statement released by Carey. The grant was provided by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
Under the program, the sobriety traffic stops will be set up to apprehend intoxicated motorists, and, hopefully, encourage people not to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Carey said.
“The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has been successfully operating sobriety checkpoints since 1985,’’ Carey said in a prepared statement, adding that establishment of the checkpoints is an important deterrent to impaired driving.
And, “curtailing impaired driving will prevent serious accidents and will save lives,’’ he said.
Seeking an alternative way home, such as calling for a taxi, is far less costly that being arrested for impaired driving, Carey said in the statement, noting that penalties for impaired driving are severe.
First offenders whose blood-alcohol content registers between 0.08 percent and 0.01 percent can be incarcerated for up to 30 days and motorists may lose their driving privileges for seven months to a year. Those convicted with a blood-alcohol reading of more than 0.15 percent must install an ignition interlock device on their vehicles, according to the statement. Fines and legal fees can cost motorists as much as $15,000.
Second-time offenders must be jailed for at least 48 hours and can be incarcerated for up to 90 days with a loss of driver’s license for two years.
A third offense carries imprisonment of 180 days and loss of driver’s license for 10 years, according to the statement.
The Police Chiefs Association of Middlesex County is also in support of the sobriety checkpoints, according to the statement.