New York State Police (NYSP) have amped up their DWI patrols for the holiday season as of Dec. 15 as part of their participation in the national enforcement initiative to crack down on impaired driving that typically increases this time of year.  Motorists can expect to see sobriety checkpoints and more Troopers on the roadways as part of the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign.

In a statement released by the NYS Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said, "our members work vigilantly year-round to keep our roadways safe and prevent the needless tragedies that result from impaired and reckless driving.  However, our goal during the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign is to reduce impaired driving crashes and remind motorists to make responsible decisions."

During the campaign Troopers will be using marked patrol vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles to improve their ability to identify impaired drivers, drivers who are using handheld devices, seatbelt violators, and motorists failing to obey the "Move Over" law.

During last year's campaign, the NYSP issued 33,153 tickets and fifteen people were killed in crashes.  Some of the tickets issued were:

  • 1,107 for distracted driving.
  • more than 11,319 for speeding
  • 421 for disobeying the "Move Over" law.

In addition to the tickets, 571 operators were arrested for DWI.

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