Law enforcement across the state will be stepping up enforcement as the national "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign gets underway Friday.

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over logo
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over logo (NJ Dept. of Law & Public Safety)
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The campaign runs from August 16th until September 2nd, during which time police departments will have a larger presence on the roads and set up check points aimed at catching anyone who drives while impaired.

"The local police will pick out those hotspots, where they think there may be that kind of activity, and they'll set up checkpoints there. They'll also be patrolling places where they think people might be drinking and driving," says Zach Hosseini, spokesman from the New Jersey Division of Traffic Safety.

In addition making arrests, the program's goal is to prevent drivers from getting behind the wheel while impaired in the first place. In 2009, alcohol was responsible for nearly half of auto deaths amongst driver between 21 and 34, according to the NJ Division of Traffic Safety. So Hosseini says while police are always on full alert for drunk drivers, there's a special focus during the campaign.

"Summertime is a high volume traffic time and people may be out drinking and enjoying themselves. So given the high volume and given New Jersey where there is a high volume of people on the shore, it's a good time to focus on this issue," Hosseini explained.

Over a 100 police departments statewide will be aided in the program thanks to grants of $4,400 dollars from the National Administration of Highway Traffic Safety.

"That allows municipal police departments to fund patrols for extra man power to be more visible," notes Hosseini.

Hosseini warns that even if you have just a few drinks, it's not worth the risk of getting behind the wheel.

"Buzzed driving is drunk driving. No one should drink and get behind the wheel."

He points out if a driver is impaired, they will be arrested, and nobody will be let off with a warning. Violations for driving while impaired include high fines, loss of license, imprisonment, and even assault and vehicular manslaughter charges.

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