Aberdeen police to conduct drunken-driving crackdown

ABERDEEN — The township police department announced that a drunken-driving crackdown will take place from mid-August into September.

From Aug. 15 through Sept. 1 the police department will be stepping up impaired driving enforcement as part of New Jersey's Over the Limit Under Arrest 2008 statewide campaign.

According to a press release from Police Chief John Powers, the crackdown is funded through a $5,000 grant from the N.J. Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Lt. Alan Geyer is coordinating the program.

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. Launched nationally in 1999, the program works to combat drunken driving during some of the busiest travel times of the year.

The Aberdeen Township Police Department recommends the following tactics for safe alcohol consumption: naming a designated driver, taking mass transit, reporting impaired drivers and wearing seat belts.

As part of the national initiative, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to run the two-week campaign.

According to the press release, impaired drivers kill nearly 18,000 people on the nation's roads each year. In 2007, 205 people were killed as a result of alcohol-related crashes on New Jersey highways. That number represents 28 percent of the 724 traffic fatalities reported in the state. In addition, 82 of those alcohol-related fatalities occurred during the summer travel season. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that nearly 97 percent of Americans view drinking and driving by others as a threat to their families and themselves.