Crime & Safety

Aberdeen Police to Step Up Drunken Driving Enforcement

Increased police patrols, checkpoints through holiday season

Aberdeen’s police department has announced that it again is participating in a statewide drunken driving crackdown beginning Friday.

A $4,400 grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety received by the department will fund overtime patrols by officers, according to a news release issued by Chief John T. Powers.  

“This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of the year when impaired driving traditionally increases by nearly 10 percent," Powers said in a statement. “This initiative brings attention to the serious consequences of drunk driving and the grave danger those who choose to drink and drive pose to all who share the road with them.”  

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The increased enforcement, coordinated locally by Capt. Alan Geyer and Sgt. Matthew Lloyd, will run through the holiday season, ending on Jan. 2, 2014. During that time, police will conduct saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints, according to authorities.

Last year in New Jersey, 19 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities were alcohol-related, according to authorities. Nationally, 4,169 people were killed in drunken driving crashes during the combined months of December in 2007 through 2011.

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Law enforcement recommends the following to stay safe this holiday season:

  • Take mass transit, a taxicab, or ask a sober friend to drive you home.

  • Spend the night where the activity is held.

  • If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.  

  • Always buckle-up, every ride.  It’s your best defense against an impaired driver.

    • If you are 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 or escort you to your doorstep.

    • Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.


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