Extra patrols set up in Brielle to keep down drunken driving

Stopping drunken drivers before they take a life is the goal Wednesday night for police departments around New Jersey, including in Brielle.



Police in the state see more crashes related to drunken driving over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend. Fifteen people died statewide last year.
Brielle put out four extra patrols on the street to keep those incidents down.
"Our biggest thing is failure to maintain lane people swerving," says Officer Dylan Lovgren. "You'll see that a lot if they're intoxicated you'll see the vehicle drive into the shoulder."



Brielle is only 1.8 square miles, but it's often used as a cut-through to get to places like Belmar, Point Pleasant or Asbury Park.
Brielle is also connected to three highways, so there are a lot of out of towners who may have been drinking coming through.
The officers know that one stop can save a life, if not more.
"We want people to go to Thanksgiving tomorrow," says Lovgren. "We want people to have a good time with their families and that's what we are here to do. And if we can do that and make sure we did a good job and everyone is where they need to be then we're happy."
The Monmouth County DWI Task Force has a checkpoint set up in Howell, with many other similar checkpoints around New Jersey.