HERO Police Cars Hit the Road to Prevent Drunk Driving

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI They call them “rolling billboards,” but they don’t advertise a product or service. Instead, they carry a powerful message reminding motorists of the dangers of drunken driving. On Thursday, police departments in Ocean City, Sea Isle City and four other South Jersey towns unveiled patrol cars emblazoned with the logo of the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign, a 20-year-old initiative to promote the use of designated drivers. The ceremony, attended by local police officers and municipal officials on Sea Isle’s Promenade, launched a new sober driving campaign starting at the Jersey Shore just as the Fourth of July holiday weekend arrives. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for helping us to save lives by encouraging safe and sober designated driving,” Bill Elliott, the HERO Campaign chairman, said in a statement. “With these rolling billboards reminding South Jersey residents of the importance of designated driving, we will keep our roads safe from the dangers of drunk driving.” Elliott noted in an interview that the Fourth of July ranks high on the list of holidays for drinking and driving, underscoring the need to get the HERO Campaign-themed police cars out on the road for this weekend. “It’s in the top five, probably in the top three,” Elliott said of the prevalence of holiday drinking and driving during the Fourth of July. Bill Elliott, chairman of the HERO Campaign, speaks of the importance of using designated drivers to save lives. Bill and Muriel Elliott founded the HERO Campaign in memory of their son, John R. Elliott, a Navy ensign who was killed by a drunken driver in Salem County on July 22, 2000, just two months after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio praised the Elliott family during Thursday’s ceremony for turning a tragedy into a campaign credited with saving countless lives. The HERO acronym in the HERO Campaign stands for Human Education Resources Officer. This type of HERO is selected by their peers at the Naval Academy to serve as a mentor and counselor. John Elliott was named the top HERO of his graduating class. Police cars in Sea Isle, Ocean City, Atlantic City, Lower Township, Middle Township and Evesham Township are part of the HERO Campaign’s “Summer of Heroes” initiative to prevent drunken driving. “Safe and sober drivers are all what we hope for,” Sea Isle Police Chief Tom McQuillen said. McQuillen added that if just one person decides not to drive drunk after seeing one of the HERO police cars then the campaign “will have succeeded in saving lives.” Bill Elliott explained that other police departments have expressed interest in having some of their patrol vehicles decorated with the HERO Campaign logo and safety messages. “We think this is just the beginning,” he said of the six departments that already have the HERO cars and SUVs. Police officers wear face coverings during the HERO Campaign ceremony to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Jane French, one of the early supporters of the HERO Campaign, is an Ocean City resident who sponsored the Ocean City Police Department’s HERO patrol car. French recalled the petition drive in Ocean City 20 years ago that urged the state Legislature to pass new legislation, called John’s Law in memory of John Elliott, giving the police the power to seize the cars of alleged drunken drivers. “With Ocean City being a dry town, it’s twice as important that people aren’t driving drunk,” French said of the town’s age-old law prohibiting bars and liquor stores. The man who killed John Elliott had been arrested and charged with drunken driving just two hours before the crash, but was released to the custody of a friend, who let him get behind the wheel again. John’s Law followed in 2001, allowing New Jersey police to impound the vehicles of suspected drunken drivers for up to 12 hours after they are arrested. Bill and Muriel Elliott often have spoken over the years about how their son could have been saved if the drunken driver, who was also killed in the crash, had not gotten behind the wheel or had used a designated driver. “Muriel has a saying that a cure for drunken driving is a designated driver,” Bill Elliott said. Officer Jack Davis and Ocean City resident Jane French unveil the Ocean City Police Department's patrol car decorated with the HERO Campaign theme.