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State Police to Crack Down on Impaired Driving and
Underage Drinking Over Halloween Weekend
Published: October 27, 2023
at 04:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from New York State Police
State Police to
crack down on impaired driving and underage drinking over Halloween weekend
27 October 2023
NEW YORK STATE
POLICE
Major Brent M.
Davison
Troop B Commander
PRESS RELEASE
The New York State
Police will be conducting impaired driving and underage drinking
initiatives during the Halloween weekend. The traffic enforcement period
runs from Friday, October 27, 2023, through Wednesday, November 1, 2023,
and is funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.
New York State
Police Acting Superintendent Dominick L. Chiumento said, “Halloween can be
great family fun, but it can also be deadly when someone makes the wrong
decision to drink and drive. Troopers will be highly visible throughout the
Halloween weekend looking for impaired and reckless drivers. Drivers
should exercise extreme caution, especially on the local roads, as children
and their parents will be out enjoying the weekend festivities. Our message
is simple: Drive responsibility, never drink and drive.”
Motorists who are
traveling this weekend can expect a number of
sobriety checkpoints and additional DWI patrols. Law enforcement will also
be looking for motorists who are using their phones and other electronic
devices while behind the wheel. Drivers should also remember to “move over”
for stopped emergency and hazard vehicles stopped on the side of the road.
State Police will also be targeting the illegal sale of alcohol to minors
through underage drinker enforcement details statewide.
Troopers will be
using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic
Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of this crackdown in
order to more easily identify motorists who are violating the law.
CITE vehicles allow the Trooper to better observe driving violations.
These vehicles blend in with everyday traffic but are unmistakable as
emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports Halloween is a
particularly deadly night due to the high number of impaired drivers on the
roads. Between 2015 and 2019, there were 126 drunk-driving fatalities
on Halloween night nationwide. Of those fatalities, 41 percent occurred in
crashes where there was at least one drunk driver involved. Children out
trick-or-treating, and those who accompany them, are also at risk. During
Halloween night 2019, four pedestrians were killed in drunk-driving
crashes.
During last year’s initiative there were 1,006 accidents, which included
109 personal injury crashes and three fatalities. Troopers also
arrested 189 people for DWI and issued a total of 11,601 tickets.
A reminder, if you plan to head out and celebrate Halloween, NHTSA offers
these simple tips for a safe and happy evening:
• Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even
if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan
to use public transportation or a ride sharing service to get home
safely.
• Use your community’s sober ride program
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact law
enforcement
• Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the
keys away and make arrangements to get your friend
home safely.
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