MIDDLESEX COUNTY -- Sobriety checkpoints, normally put into place for the spring prom season in Middlesex County, will become year-round beginning this weekend, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.

Kaplan announced today that a $43,000 grant from the New Jersey Office of Highway Traffic Safety will enable police to establish Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) checkpoints at any time during the year.

He said members of various municipal police departments in the county and investigators from the his office’s fatal crash investigations unit will be randomly stationed throughout the county to check for impaired drivers.

"Due to the dedicated efforts of our local police departments, the sobriety checkpoints have been very successful over the years in helping to curb driving by motorists who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs," Kaplan said.

In the past, the checkpoints were set up for various holidays and during the prom and graduation season each spring, but their success led authorities to decide to expand the program, he said.

Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch, who heads up the fatal crash investigations unit, said, "the purpose of the sobriety checkpoints is to remove intoxicated drivers from the road."

Sewitch, who supervises the checkpoints, said they are also "to educate people to the dangers of drinking or using drugs and driving," and "to deter people from driving if they have become intoxicated and ensure the safety of the motoring public."

When motorists are stopped at the checkpoints, they are handed pamphlets outlining the consequences of impaired driving and are told that first-time offenders could lose their driving privileges for up to seven months and face a variety of fines, insurance surcharges and legal fees that could total as much as $15,000