Holiday crackdown begins as 125 N.J. police departments gear up to catch drunk drivers
🚨NJ has launched its annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown
🚨125 police agencies are funded to ramp up DWI patrols & checkpoints
🚨The number of fatalities on NJ roads has decreased in 2025
New Jersey's annual "Drive sober or get pulled over" campaign is underway.
The 125 agencies will share a $703,500 grant from the Division of Highway Traffic Safety to cover patrols and checkpoints through New Year's Day, targeting drivers who are impaired behind the wheel. Bay Head, Camden, Lakewood, Montclair, Newark, Passaic and Paterson top the list of grants with each department receiving $10,500. Most departments receive anywhere between $1,400 and $7,000.
Police departments participating in program
| County | Department | Grant |
| Atlantic | Absecon | $4,200 |
| Atlantic | Atlantic City | $8,750 |
| Atlantic | Atlantic County Sheriff | $2,100 |
| Atlantic | Brigantine | $2,800 |
| Atlantic | Egg Harbor City | $1,400 |
| Atlantic | Galloway | $8,750 |
| Atlantic | Hamilton | $8,750 |
| Atlantic | Hammonton | $2,800 |
| Atlantic | Mullica | $5,600 |
| Atlantic | Pleasantville | $2,800 |
| Atlantic | Ventnor | $2,800 |
| Bergen | Cliffside Park | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Fair Lawn | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Fairview | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Franklin Lakes | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Garfield | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Leonia | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Montvale | $7,000 |
| Bergen | New Milford | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Palisades Park | $7,000 |
| Bergen | Woodcliff Lake | $7,000 |
| Burlington | Burlington Township | $7,000 |
| Burlington | Mount Holly | $7,000 |
| Burlington | Pemberton | $7,000 |
| Camden | Gloucester Township | $10,500 |
| Camden | Lawnside | $7,000 |
| Camden | Stratford | $7,000 |
| Camden | Winslow | $7,000 |
| Cape May | Lower | $5,600 |
| Cape May | Middle | $5,600 |
| Cape May | North Wildwood | $2,100 |
| Cape May | Wildwood | $2,800 |
| Cape May | Wildwood Crest | $2,100 |
| Essex | Bloomfield | $7,000 |
| Essex | East Orange | $7,000 |
| Essex | Fairfield | $7,000 |
| Essex | Maplewood | $7,000 |
| Essex | Millburn | $7,000 |
| Essex | Montclair | $10,500 |
| Essex | Newark | $10,500 |
| Essex | Nutley | $7,000 |
| Essex | Orange | $7,000 |
| Gloucester | Clayton | $1,120 |
| Gloucester | Deptford | $1,400 |
| Gloucester | East Greenwich | $2,800 |
| Gloucester | Elk | $2,240 |
| Gloucester | Franklin | $4,200 |
| Gloucester | Glassboro | $6,160 |
| Gloucester | Greenwich | $1,400 |
| Gloucester | Harrison | $1,400 |
| Gloucester | Logan | $3,360 |
| Gloucester | Mantua | $6,160 |
| Gloucester | Monroe | $4,200 |
| Gloucester | Paulsboro | $2,800 |
| Gloucester | Pitman | $5,040 |
| Gloucester | Washington | $8,400 |
| Gloucester | Westville | $4,760 |
| Gloucester | Woodbury | $6,160 |
| Gloucester | Woolrich | $2,800 |
| Hudson | Bayonne | $7,000 |
| Hudson | Guttenberg | $7,000 |
| Hudson | Harrison | $7,000 |
| Hudson | Hoboken | $7,000 |
| Hudson | North Bergen | $8,750 |
| Hudson | Secaucus | $7,000 |
| Hunterdon | Clinton Town | $2,800 |
| Hunterdon | Clinton Township | $5,600 |
| Hunterdon | Frenchtown | $2,100 |
| Hunterdon | Lambertville | $1,400 |
| Hunterdon | Lebanon | $1,400 |
| Hunterdon | Tewksbury | $2,800 |
| Hunterdon | West Amwell | $2,100 |
| Mercer | Hamilton | $7,000 |
| Mercer | Robbinsville | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Carteret | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Dunellen | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Metuchen | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Monroe | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Old Bridge | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Piscataway | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | Plainsboro | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | South Brunswick | $7,000 |
| Middlesex | South Plainfield | $7,000 |
| Monmouth | Belmar | $7,000 |
| Monmouth | East Windsor | $7,000 |
| Monmouth | Freehold | $7,000 |
| Monmouth | Howell | $7,000 |
| Monmouth | Red Bank | $7,000 |
| Morris | Butler | $7,000 |
| Morris | Dover | $7,000 |
| Morris | Parsippany-Troy Hills | $7,000 |
| Ocean | Bay Head | $7,000 |
| Ocean | Lakewood | $10,500 |
| Ocean | Ocean Gate | $7,000 |
| Ocean | Stafford | $7,000 |
| Passaic | Bloomingdale | $7,000 |
| Passaic | Little Falls | $7,000 |
| Passaic | Passaic | $10,500 |
| Passaic | Paterson | $10,500 |
| Passaic | Prospect Park | $7,000 |
| Passaic | West Milford | $7,000 |
| Somerset | Bedminster | $2,800 |
| Somerset | Branchburg | $2,100 |
| Somerset | Bridgewater | $2,100 |
| Somerset | Far Hills | $3,500 |
| Somerset | Franklin | $1,680 |
| Somerset | Green Brook | $3,500 |
| Somerset | Hillsborough | $3,500 |
| Somerset | Manville | $3,360 |
| Somerset | Montgomery | $3,080 |
| Somerset | North Plainfield | $3,080 |
| Somerset | Peapack Gladstone | $4,200 |
| Somerset | Raritan | $2,100 |
| Somerset | Somerset County Sheriff | $2,100 |
| Somerset | Somerville | $3,500 |
| Somerset | Warren | $3,500 |
| Somerset | Watchung | $2,100 |
| Sussex | Franklin | $7,000 |
| Sussex | Hamburg | $7,000 |
| Sussex | Hopatcong | $7,000 |
| Sussex | Sparta | $7,000 |
| Union | Cranford | $7,000 |
| Union | Fanwood | $7,000 |
| Union | Plainfield | $7,000 |
| Union | Roselle Park | $7,000 |
The number of fatal crashes on New Jersey roads is lower than all of 2024, with 499 crashes and 530 fatalities so far in 2025. In 2024, 647 fatal crashes resulted in 684 fatalities. Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety Michael J. Rizol Jr. said it won't take much to change that.
"We are approaching a dangerous time of year when we see an increase in impaired driving. We urge everyone to make a plan to get home safely and never drive under the influence of alcohol or other substances," Rizol said.
In the 2024 campaign, 130 agencies participated, resulting in 590 impaired driving arrests, 2,948 speeding summonses, and 1,038 seat belt summonses.
ALSO READ: New leadership coming to NJ State police
‘Goal Zero’ enforcement may have helped reduce deadly crashes
One possible explanation for the reduction in fatalities is increased participation in high-visibility enforcement details as part of the Goal Zero initiative. Spearheaded by Holmdel police officer Matt Menosky, law enforcement agencies in Monmouth and Ocean counties have increased their presence the last Thursday of every month looking for behaviors like distracted driving that create a greater chance of a crash.
The outcome resulted in a drop in fatal crashes in the county from 39 in 2024 to 15 in 2025, a 61% decrease, and 24 lives saved.
The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police took the plan statewide in November with high-profile enforcement during "Blackout Wednesday" at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday. It will likely lead to more initiative in 2026.
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Significant or historical events in New Jersey for December (in chronological order)
Gallery Credit: Dan Alexander
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