Princeton Police report spike in DWIs
Police Chief Matthew Solovay warned officials at the most recent council meeting that Princeton is seeing a rise in impaired driving, with the number of DWI incidents this year already surpassing last year’s total.
Solovay said officers made eight DWI-related arrests in October, including one crash that resulted in a juvenile being hospitalized for serious injuries.
As of November, police logged 36 impaired-driving incidents.
“The Princeton Police Department takes impaired driving extremely seriously,” Solovay said. “This is a public safety issue we cannot ignore.”
Solovay highlighted the success of the department’s “Provide Your DD” program, a partnership with Uber launched two years ago to prevent drinking and driving. Funded jointly by the police department and the police union, the program provided more than 900 free rides home to keep impaired drivers off the road.
“Unfortunately, the funding for this program has been totally exhausted and we were forced to suspend it,” Solovay said.
The department’s Traffic Safety Bureau is now seeking new funding through the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety and searching for “other possible avenues” to reinstate the program.
With the holiday season approaching, historically a dangerous period for impaired-driving crashes, Solovay said the police department will increase patrols and enforcement.
That’s a cause I would certainly contribute to!
Late closing barn door to seek funds
Yet we have a municipal town bus with near zero ridership at a cost nearing $400,000 a year and another bus/route proposed for $400,000 a year. In addition to the $50,000,000 for purchasing and renovating Westminster with no clear purpose. What other ways can Council spend tax dollars they don’t have?