The Division of Highway Traffic Safety today urged New Jerseyans planning to drink during their New Year’s Eve celebrations to make sure they plan to have a safe and sober ride home before heading out to welcome 2015.
However, should someone forget to make that plan, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given them another option. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled a new mobile app to help people who have been drinking get a safe ride home. NHTSA’s new SaferRide app will help keep drunk drivers off our roads by allowing users to call a taxi or a friend and by identifying their location so they can be picked up. The app is available for Android devices on Google Play, and Apple devices on the iTunes store.
In New Jersey, a person is guilty of drunk driving if he or she operates a motor vehicle with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or greater. Although the law refers to a .08 percent BAC, you can be convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor even when your BAC is below 0.08 percent. Consuming even small amounts of alcohol dulls the senses, decreases reaction time, and hampers judgment, vision and alertness. If you consume any amount of alcohol and your driving is negatively impacted, you can be convicted of drunk driving. Poedubicky said local law enforcement agencies will be on the roads this weekend continuing to crack down on drunk drivers as part of the state’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” mobilization. The campaign has provided federal grants of $7,500 to 165 law enforcement agencies throughout the state to implement the impaired driving enforcement initiative. Officers will be conducting saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints, looking for motorists who may be driving while intoxicated.
The Division offers the following advice to ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday season for all:
If you’ve consumed alcohol, even just one drink, take mass transit, a taxi or ask a sober friend to drive you home. Report impaired drivers to law enforcement. In New Jersey, drivers may dial #77 to report a drunk or aggressive driver. If you’re intoxicated, and traveling on foot, the safest way to get home is to take a cab or have a sober friend or family member escort you safely to your doorstep.
Always buckle up, every ride, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle. It’s the best defense against an impaired driver.