The Branford Police Department is talking about the dangers of drunk driving after a police cruiser was almost involved in a head-on collision with another car driving on the wrong side of the highway.
In video released by Branford's police department, it shows the moments when a police cruiser is driving down East Main Street when a car is driving toward the officer and swerves out of the way after the officer turned on the police lights.
Branford Police tells NBC Connecticut the close call happened on Monday around 8 p.m.
The driver behind the wheel of the vehicle was taken into custody and charged with illegally operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, according to police.
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"It's such a preventable thing, you don't have to drink and drive, there's so many options," said Branford Police Sgt. Melissa Carney. "You have to be alert because you may be okay but there's other people on the road that may not be."
"MADD is not against alcohol, the consumption of alcohol, we're against, we're fighting and we will continually fight drunk driving," said Bob Garguilo, executive director for MADD's New England Region. "You need to make the right decision but before you go out you need to make a plan, 'how am I going to get home safely', there's Uber, there's Lyft, there's various other means of transportation."
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Branford Police tells NBC Connecticut they will be on alert during the holiday season.
"We've been stepping up patrols, we do this every year around this time," said Carney. "We have DUI patrols out and their purpose is to go out and look for drunk drivers."
