Police Checking Drivers for Drinking and Drugs

Drivers getting stopped at DWI checkpoints this weekend will also be checked for being under the influence of drugs, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's office.

With the start of the busy summer travel season looming, Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato today announced the continuation of the annual countywide DWI checkpoint program. The program, which supplements local DWI enforcement, consists of staging numerous checkpoints throughout the county.

"Most significant for the program this year, is the addition of two drug recognition experts at each checkpoint to detect those under the influence of narcotics," says a prepared statement from the prosecutor's office.

Coronato, quoted in the statement, reminds drivers that "an extra measure of caution and not operating under the influence can prevent tragedy."

"While inattentive and aggressive drivers are always targets of law enforcement's regular patrols, the purpose of these efforts is to detect, educate, deter, arrest, and vigorously prosecute impaired drivers," the statement says.

Each year impaired drivers are responsible for about a third of the deaths occurring on county roadways. This year, there have been 21 fatal crashes resulting in 23 deaths within the county, the statement says.

The checkpoint program, which is funded in part by the county freeholders and the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety, will be conducted by local police agencies in conjunction with detectives from the prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s department K-9 Unit.

The program is operated through the prosecutor’s Vehicular Homicide Unit under the direction of Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Steven Cucci.