HOLIDAY TIP: Driving Drunk in Hoboken is Stupid

Driving drunk is inexcusable. Driving drunk in Hoboken — a place with such heavy traffic (both vehicular and pedestrian), spiteful parking conditions, and oh so many public transit options — is particularly idiotic.

RELATED: Street Smarts—A Practical Guide to Getting Around Hoboken

Over the next few weeks, Hoboken’s finest will be around to reinforce that point…

New Jersey’s largest annual drunk driving crackdown will be here soon. Law enforcement officers from The City of Hoboken will be participating in the 2016 Year End Holiday Statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. Beginning December 9 and running through January 1, 2017, local and state law enforcement officers will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols, looking for motorists who may be driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” is a national campaign designed to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving through high-visibility enforcement backed up by public educational efforts including national radio and television advertisements, posters, banners and mobile video display signs. The campaign looks to curtail impaired driving during the busy Year End Holiday season.

“Many people believe that after a few drinks they’re still safe to drive,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety.  “Even one drink can impair your judgment and reaction time, putting not only yourself, but everyone on the road, in danger.”  

“There is a zero tolerance message for this campaign. If drivers are caught operating their vehicle while impaired they will be arrested,” he added.

Ho-Ho-Hoboken SantaCon

In 2013 alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 27 percent of New Jersey’s motor vehicle fatalities. As part of the initiative, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides grants to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to run the two-week campaign.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over 2016 crackdown offer the following advice:

• If you plan to drink, designate a driver, someone who will not drink alcohol, before going out.
• Take mass transit, a taxi/Uber/Lyft or ask a sober friend to drive you home.
• Spend the night where the activity is held.
• Always buckle up, every ride, regardless of your seating position in the vehicle.  It’s your best defense against an impaired 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 drive you to your doorstep.