Police officers with the Monmouth County DWI Task Force set up a command center for a checkpoint in Neptune Township on May 24. It is 11 p.m. on Friday, the start of the Memorial Day weekend. While many people at the Shore are out celebrating the unofficial start of summer, members of the Monmouth County DWI Task Force are just getting to work on their weekly checkpoint.
“We hold them every Friday and sometimes Saturday,” said Brielle Police Chief Michael Palmer, who has overseen the county DWI unit for 12 years.
On this night, the task force has established its headquarters on Route 33 in Neptune, working from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.
“We have five officers from [Neptune], one sheriff’s officer and three officers from Brielle here,” Palmer said. A Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office truck at the scene serves as a dispatch center for the task force, which due to the rain on this night uses roving patrols to look for drunken drivers instead of pulling them over at a checkpoint.
And though the start of Memorial Day weekend means many drivers will be headed to and from bars and clubs at the Shore, the task force makes no arrests on this night.
This, according to Palmer, is a relatively new trend. “Back when I started [as task force coordinator] 12 years ago, I have to say more DWI arrests were issued,” he said. “This is not to say there are no arrests made [at present]. But I’ve been seeing more designated drivers and more cabs.”
Palmer said the ultimate goal of the DWI checkpoints is to educate motorists and prevent drunken driving. When conducting checkpoints, the task force pulls over every car and provides drivers with a pamphlet detailing DWI laws.
“These checkpoints are posted in the paper, and people are getting the message,” he said.
More than 500 vehicles passed through a May 17 checkpoint on Route 36 in Union Beach, but only one driver was charged with DWI. Likewise, on May 3, one of about 400 drivers stopped by the task force on Route 36 in Eatontown received drunken-driving charges.
The county task force, which operates from March to December, is one example of local efforts to thwart drunken driving.
The Holmdel Police Department conducts grant-funded, roving patrols dedicated to DWI law enforcement and works with the county on a minimum of two sobriety checkpoints each year, said Sgt. Michael Pigott, the department’s traffic safety supervisor.
“The checkpoints serve several purposes,” Pigott said. “First, they allow us to apprehend any violators that drive through the roadblock, and secondly, they promote public awareness of DWI enforcement and hopefully deter someone who may have gotten behind the wheel of their vehicle, [prompting him or her] to think twice about that.”
In Old Bridge, Capt. Robert Bonfante said the police department works with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office to conduct sobriety checkpoints and also conducts roving patrols throughout the year.
“This is important to protect our children and citizens from intoxicated individuals,” he said.
Bonfante said he believes the checkpoints have been effective.
“People are more aware of DWI and are designating drivers when they go out to drink,” he said. I n New Jersey, a driver with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or greater is considered to be driving under the influence. However, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling upon states to lower their legal limit to 0.05.
In a report issued this month, the NTSB proposed a road map of actions to stop alcohol impaired driving, which claims 10,000 lives a year. In addition to lowering the BAC limit, the agency is recommending that states require past offenders to use ignition-locking devices that analyze breath samples, and that law enforcement conduct more checkpoints.
State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) said he believes reducing the BAC limit to 0.05 could save lives.
“This certainly could work,” he said, noting that he was not aware of an official proposal to reduce the limit in New Jersey.
“There is a gray area that is of concern,” he added, however. “Where do we draw the line?”
In 2006, Vitale co-sponsored the legislation that lowered the BAC limit from 0.10 to 0.08, with the goal of saving lives.
“Our largest opposition was from restaurant, tavern and bar owners, who relayed their concern of losing business,” he said. “With this [recommendation], we will find ourselves with the same arguments.”
Vitale said the industry’s concerns are valid, and businesses lost revenue due to the previous lowering of the BAC limit.
Palmer said he had not done the research to formulate an opinion on the possible reduction of the BAC limit, but he considers it an interesting concept.
East Brunswick Patrolman Jim Angermeier Jr. said he does not believe the reduction would prevent more people from driving drunk.
“Our numbers of DWI arrests remained at level when they changed the blood-alcohol content from 0.10 to 0.08 in 2006,” he said.
However, lowering the BAC limit might make responsible drivers think twice about their alcohol tolerance before getting behind the wheel, he said.
Pigott agreed. Though he said he is not yet fully informed about the proposal, he believes many people base their decision to drive strictly on how they feel, since they do not know how much they can consume before their BAC reaches the threshold.
“If the number is lowered, I feel that people would be more apt to err on the side of caution and not drink at all or not drive, even if only having a drink or two,” he said.
Being convicted of driving under the influence in New Jersey carries penalties that include fines, fees and surcharges, driver’s license suspension, and potential jail time and community service. First-time offenders whose limit is at least 0.10 can lose their licenses for seven months to a year and receive a prison term of up to 30 days. For those at 0.15 or greater, a court-mandated ignition-interlock device is issued.
Palmer said a single DWI can cost an offender more than $10,000.
The East Brunswick Police Department, which covers 22 square miles, including the Route 18 corridor between New Brunswick and Old Bridge, used a dedicated unit for DWI patrols from 2002 to 2010. In eight years, the unit — which initially consisted of two patrolmen and a sergeant but was later reduced to just one officer — made 1,048 DWI arrests, in addition to charging 327 drivers with criminal offenses and issuing 6,489 traffic summonses.
“In the unit, we averaged two to three drunk drivers a night,” said Angermeier, who was part of the roving DWI patrols from 2003 to 2010 and is now the department’s DWI coordinator. “We called [from] 11 p.m. on ‘the witching hour.’ But it’s not to say drunk drivers are not out there during the day.”
The department received numerous awards for the special patrols.
The East Brunswick Police Department as a whole still makes about 350 to 400 DWI arrests annually, maintaining its status as one of the top five departments in the state for cracking down on drunken drivers, even after discontinuing the DWI unit due to manpower reductions, Angermeier said.
“We were and still are known for our DWI arrests,” Angermeier said. “People [who drink and drive] go around our township.”
First-offense penalties
Under New Jersey law, if an offender’s BAC is 0.08 percent or higher, but less than 0.10 percent, or if an offender permits another person with a BAC over 0.08 percent, but less that 0.10 percent, to operate a motor vehicle, the penalties are: A fine of $250-$400* Imprisonment for up to 30 days* Three-month license suspension* A minimum of six hours a day for two consecutive days in an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center An automobile insurance surcharge of $1,000 a year for three years. If the offender’s BAC is 0.10 percent or higher, or the person operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogens or habit-producing drug, or permits another person with a BAC of 0.10 percent or higher to operate a motor vehicle, the penalties are: A fine of $300-$500* Imprisonment for up to 30 days* License suspension between seven months and one year* A minimum of six hours a day for two consecutive days in an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center An automobile insurance surcharge of $1,000 a year for three years. *If occurring within a school zone or school crossing, the penalty is increased. Source: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission