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D.R.I.V.E. Program

The Driver Response Impaired Vision Exercise (D.R.I.V.E) Program enlightens students to the pitfalls of driving while under the influence through the use of fatal vision goggles that mimics the effects of being intoxicated. Through physical application, students are able to realize the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Middlesex County's Driver Response Impaired Vision Exercise (D.R.I.V.E.) program utilizes golf carts and sight-impairing fatal vision goggles to create a hands-on impaired driving experience for the driver. NJ State Police designed a course utilizing road cones, safety barriers and traffic signs that can be set up in parking lot areas of high schools.

Middlesex County partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) New Jersey, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety to host the 2026 Annual New Jersey Law Enforcement Recognition Event at the Heldrich Hotel. This event honors law enforcement from across the state with high numbers of DUI and DWI arrests throughout the year for taking action against driving under the influence. 

County Commissioner Deputy Director Shanti Narra delivered the opening remarks at the event, thanking law enforcement for ensuring roadways are safe and for serving as a "crucial element in our Vision Zero initiative" to eliminate traffic fatalities in the County. 

A total of 28 law enforcement officials from Middlesex County municipalities were honored at the event, with Officer Anthony Painchaud from the Middlesex Borough Police Department placing second in the Top Cop DWI State of New Jersey Awards.

Congratulations to all the awardees, Middlesex County appreciates the commitment to keeping the roads safe! 

3D: Don't Drive Dangerously PSA Contest

This year is the 26^th annual PSA Awards Contest for Middlesex County’s high schools. The program was developed in 2000 initially as the “Middlesex County Don’t Drink and Drive PSA Video Contest”, with the goal of reducing alcohol related fatalities among teens, specifically targeting prom and graduation season. It has now expanded to include all forms of dangerous driving such as impaired and distracted driving, now titled “Middlesex County’s 3D – Don’t Drive Dangerously PSA Contest”.

The contest is open to high school students in all public and non-public Middlesex County high schools. Each high school is invited to submit an English and/or Spanish 60-second student-produced video public service announcement (PSA) or 30-second audio PSA, that focuses on the consequences of driving dangerously. A maximum of five students per youth-led team can collaborate to change the social climate of their community through the use of compelling PSAs that depict impaired and dangerous driving as unacceptable behavior.

The program culminates with an award’s day coupled with a traffic safety symposium, where guest speakers offer various blocks of instruction, and the DRIVE program is administered by the New Jersey State Police. The event is co-sponsored by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners, Robert Wood Johnson Injury Prevention, Middlesex County Superintendent of Schools, Wellspring Center for Prevention, MADD-NJ, and NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Through this program teens become positive role models, empowering their peers to make healthy decisions and resist negative peer pressure.

Congratulations to the winners of Middlesex County’s 26^th annual 3D – Don’t Drive Dangerously PSA Contest.

• 1^st place: East Brunswick High School
• 2^nd place: Monroe Township High School
• 3^rd place: New Brunswick P-TECH High School

• 1^st place: Woodbridge Academy Magnet School
• 2^nd place: South Plainfield High School
• 3^rd place: Monroe Township High School