Drug, Alcohol Awareness Weekend At Ocean County Mall

Visitors to the Ocean County Mall can undergo a DWI checkpoint, experience the dangers of drunk driving, and learn more about the county's ongoing issues with drug addiction from the experts this weekend.

The county's annual "3D" – drinking, drugging, driving – event will be held at center court in the mall Friday and Saturday, said Al Della Fave of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m both days, the county Health Department’s Intoxicated Driver Resource Center will engage visitors in simulated impaired-driving situations, DWI stops, and information aimed at discouraging reckless behavior that can lead to deaths.

Members of the Ocean County Health Department, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs are taking part along with students from several schools in the county, the DART Coalition and many others.

One of the centerpiece components will be “fatal vision goggles,” which simulate the brain-bending effects of intoxication for sober wearers, said Della Fave.

Also, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierro is coordinating the Drug Awareness Weekend event at the Ocean County Mall in center court Friday evening and Saturday morning. Members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office will be there from 5 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Friday night and Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.  

The theme for the weekend is "There’s Always A Choice – Never An Accident."  

The event also features educators, drug rehabilitation coordinators and substance-abuse prevention experts.