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State police make 220 DWI arrests, issue over 14,000 tickets during Thanksgiving weekend crackdown on unsafe drivers

Posted 12/7/15

State police made 220 driving while intoxicated arrests and issued more than 14,000 tickets to dangerous drivers across New York including in St. Lawrence County during the Thanksgiving weekend …

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State police make 220 DWI arrests, issue over 14,000 tickets during Thanksgiving weekend crackdown on unsafe drivers

Posted

State police made 220 driving while intoxicated arrests and issued more than 14,000 tickets to dangerous drivers across New York including in St. Lawrence County during the Thanksgiving weekend crackdown on impaired, distracted and speeding motorists.

The enforcement period ran from Nov. 25 through Nov. 29.

Troopers issued a total of 14,468 tickets during the Thanksgiving campaign, including 5,910 for speeding, 715 for distracted driving, and made a total of 218 DWI arrests.

State police ramped up patrols across New York, focusing on speed enforcement, impaired driving, underage drinking, and distracted driving. The effort incorporated fixed sobriety checkpoints, an underage drinking initiative, and "Operation Hang Up,” a comprehensive program targeting drivers talking or texting on handheld devices. More than 5,000 vehicles passed through these checkpoints during the holiday weekend.

With Thanksgiving typically seeing the highest traffic volumes of the year, and alcohol consumption widespread, an increased police presence works to protect millions of travelers across the state. During Thanksgiving weekend 2014, State Troopers arrested 172 drivers for DWI, issued 4,237 speeding tickets, and gave out 565 tickets for distracted driving.

“New York has zero tolerance for impaired and reckless drivers who put themselves and others at risk," Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "I commend state police keeping these dangerous drivers off the roads and helping to prevent needless tragedies this holiday weekend."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2013, 301 people were killed in traffic crashes nationwide during the holiday weekend. This year, State Police investigated one fatal accident that resulted in a single death over the same time period. Throughout the campaign, State Troopers were at the scene of more than 1,100 accidents.