Township Plans Crackdown on Holiday Drunk Driving

Extra Chatham Township police officers will be deployed starting next week to crack down on drunk driving through Jan. 1, Chief Steven Hennelly announced Thursday.

The additional officers will focus on drunk driving to "help keep our roads safe during the holiday season," he said. The campaign starts Nov. 29.

"The Chatham Township Police Department will be out in force cracking down on drunk drivers throughout the area with aggressive 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' enforcement," he said.

He said police are giving partygoers fair warning. Statistics show the holiday season is a particularly deadly time because of an increased number of drunk drivers on the roads, and the Chatham Township Police Department is prepared to stop and arrest any drunk drivers they see. 

"According to the most recent data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 32,367 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes across the nation last year and 31 percent (9,878) of those fatalities occurred in drunk-driving-related crashes," he said.

Hennelly share the following tips: 

• Even one drink can impair your judgment and increase the risk of getting arrested for driving drunk—or worse, the risk of having a crash while driving.
• If you will be drinking, do not plan on driving. Plan ahead; designate a sober driver before the party begins.
• If you have been drinking, do not drive. Call a taxi, phone a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation. BE RESPONSIBLE.
• If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost one. 
• Remember, it is never safe to drink and drive: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.