Get the Message – Drink Responsibly by Chief Paul A. Kaminsky

The holidays are approaching quickly and bringing with them the parties and celebrations of the season. The start of the holiday season often unofficially begins on Thanksgiving Eve, which has become one of the biggest party nights of the year.

As friends and family file home for the Thanksgiving holiday, young adults flock to bars to get reacquainted with friends who have been away at college or have moved away to take jobs. As they reunite, they often continue the partying and drinking as if they were still on their college campus, however at the end of night they realize the trip home isn’t a short walk or a quick bus ride, but a drive behind the wheel of a car.

Too often they make the decision that too many in the under 25-year-old group make: "I’m just buzzed and it’s a short drive home." Unfortunately this ill-made decision is the reason why young adults have the highest rate of fatalities and driving-under-the-influence offenses of all age groups.

Local police departments across Somerset County are working in coordination with EmPoWER Somerset and Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely (SIPS) this Thanksgiving holiday season to help prevent young adults from driving while under the influence of alcohol. SIPS is a project aimed at reducing the harmful consequences of alcohol use among 18- to 25-year-olds, especially purchasing alcohol under the legal age of 21 and driving under the influence.

Through dedicated resources from EmPoWER Somerset, local police departments plan to increase DWI patrols and DWI checkpoints across the county during the Thanksgiving holiday period to educate and curtail driving under the influence by young adults. DWI checkpoints will be in place in Hillsborough, Bridgewater and North Plainfield, and other police departments will be increasing police patrols to specifically target drunk drivers.

Several local police departments will also be participating in Cops and Shops programs where plainclothes officers work in liquor establishments to apprehend underage individuals attempting to purchase alcohol.

Don’t risk getting arrested for driving under the influence or worse, for injuring or killing someone by getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. Drink responsibly, use a designated driver, or call for a safe ride home if you have had too much to drink.

Think before you drink and decide first on how you will get home safely this weekend. Enjoy the holiday season and your time with friends, but please remember not to drink and drive, because spending the night with us (law enforcement) is no party.

Paul A. Kaminsky is chief of police in Hillsborough.