Local and state police in Pennsylvania and New Jersey will be cracking down on driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol this Labor Day weekend.
Local and state police in Pennsylvania and New Jersey will be cracking down on driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol this Labor Day weekend.
A sobriety checkpoint is held in December 2004 in San Francisco, California. Local and state police in Pennsylvania and New Jersey will be cracking down on driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol the 2015 Labor Day weekend. (Getty Images | For lehighvalleylive.com) Easton police Thursday announced a sobriety checkpoint sometime over the weekend in the city, in addition to roving DUI patrols.
"The Easton Police Department would like to remind the public of the life-threatening dangers of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol," police Capt. David Beitler said in a news release. "Please have a safe holiday weekend."
Pennsylvania State Police announced that Friday through Monday, checkpoints targeting drunken and drugged drivers are planned in Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe and Carbon counties.
"A sobriety checkpoint is a traffic safety checkpoint wherein Pennsylvania state troopers systematically stop vehicles at selected locations to briefly observe drivers for articulable facts and/or behaviors normally associated with alcohol- or drug-impaired drivers," state police said in a news release.
The state police effort will include troopers trained in drunk-driving enforcement and recognition of drug use, according to a news release.
Did you know? Drug Recognition Experts are specially trained officers that can detect drug impaired drivers. Many will be out this weekend.
-- PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) September 3, 2015
"Enforcement will also concentrate on moving violations such as speeding and reckless driving, as well as seat belt and child safety seat violations," the release states.
Troopers in Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties investigated 37 crashes during the Labor Day 2014 holiday weekend, with one fatality, and said none were alcohol-related. State police in the region made 49 arrests for suspicion of drunk driving and issued 1,769 traffic citations, including 819 for speeding; 24 child seat citations; 55 seat belt citations and 95 seat belt warnings.
Statewide last Labor Day weekend, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says there were 144 alcohol-related crashes and 16 fatalities, as well as 44 drug-related crashes and three fatalities.
PennDOT statistics for 2013 show 3,267 drug-related crashes statewide, with 143 fatalities. In 2014, there were 3,332 drug-related crashes statewide with 125 fatalities.
The same data also show alcohol-related crashes decreased from 11,023 in 2013 to 10,586 in 2014. Fatalities in those crashes decreased from 369 in 2013 to 360 in 2014.
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Statewide police statistics show that there were 52,636 driving under the influence arrests in 2014, a decrease from 54,121 in 2013, PennDOT says. DUI-drug arrests continue to account for a larger percentage of these arrests, with 20,691 such arrests in 2014, an increase from 18,987 in 2013.
Driving under the influence penalties can include jail time, license suspension and fines of between $500 and $5,000.
In New Jersey, police are taking part in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-backed Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, with enforcement grants going to departments including those in Independence, Lopatcong and Mansfield townships in Warren County and, in Hunterdon County, Flemington, Lambertville and Clinton, Readington and West Amwell townships. That effort began Aug. 21 and continues through Monday.
RELATED: Police urge drivers to 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over'
To assist drivers over the holiday weekend, New Jersey Department of Transportation officials announced that construction projects on roads and bridges will be suspended from 6 a.m. Friday until noon Tuesday.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
