The 4th of July holiday is always a popular time for family and friends to visit the Jersey Shore and enjoy parties and reunions. At times like these, it is inevitable for beer, wine, mixed drinks and hard liquor to be available. As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my colleagues always recommend that people attending such activities have a plan for getting home, or to the next party.
A designated driver is usually a good choice to ensure a sober ride home, not only for one’s safety and peace of mind, but also to avoid situations like the ones we read about in the news almost every day during the summer. This time of year, not only do residents of the Garden State know that you can find a party almost anywhere, but the New Jersey State Police and local municipal patrolmen know that a percentage of drivers on the road are going to be legally drunk.
Keeping tabs on the public roads, it’s not uncommon to see an increase in the number of anti-DWI police patrols looking for potentially drunken drivers. According to news articles, the Lacey Township Police Department arrested half a dozen motorists for driving under the influence during the holiday weekend. What may have been somewhat surprising was that there were not more summonses issued to motorists who may have been operating their vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs (drug DUI).
Based on reports, the following traffic stops were made, all of which ended up as DWI-related offenses, in addition to the initial offense. As most people know by now, a police officer must have a valid reason to stop an individual in order to eventually arrest a driver for driving while intoxicated. A DWI arrest usually precipitates from a routine traffic stop for some seemingly minor offense, such as improper turn, burned out tail lamp or failure to maintain one’s lane.
Police reports indicate that a 20-year-old Ocean County driver was stopped following a report of a vehicle being hit along a stretch of Haines St. in Lacey. The driver was charged with drunken driving as well as operating a motor vehicle under a suspended driver’s license, driving with no valid insurance coverage, and operating a vehicle that had no valid registration.
