Police To Step Up DWI Enforcement Across LI This Thanksgiving

LONG ISLAND, NY - Both the Nassau and Suffolk County police department as well as State Police have announced that they will be stepping up DWI patrol for the Thanksgiving holiday.

State Police will be participating in a special Thanksgiving holiday traffic enforcement initiative between Wednesday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 26 in an effort to deter unsafe driving behaviors during the holiday.

"Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year and our priority is to make sure everyone gets safely to and from their destinations," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "State troopers and local law enforcement will be out in full force, stepping up their efforts to keep roadways safe for all travelers. I urge motorists to be responsible, obey the rules of the road, and allow plenty of time for travel."

In addition to regular patrols statewide, police will be holding fixed sobriety checkpoints, and participate in an underage drinker enforcement and the "Operation Hang Up" initiative, which targets distracted drivers by using undercover patrol vehicles to better locate drivers talking or texting on hand held devices.

The highest traffic volumes of the year typically occur during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and it is also a time when alcohol consumption is widespread.

Last Thanksgiving weekend, troopers arrested 245 drivers for DWI, issued 5,417 speeding tickets, 673 tickets for distracted driving, and 265 tickets for the move over law.

Earlier this week, Uber announced it will be offering free rides across Long Island for Thanksgiving Eve.

According to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, there were more than 5,000 arrests for impaired driving in Nassau County and more than 4,600 arrests for impaired driving in Suffolk County in 2016.

Last year there were also 394 alcohol-related crashes with injuries and 35 alcohol-related crashes with fatalities in Suffolk County. In Nassau County there were 313 alcohol-related crashes with injuries and 22 alcohol-related crashes with fatalities.

Officials have provided some tips to prevent drunk driving including:

• Plan a safe way home before the fun begins
• Before drinking, designate a sober driver
• If you're impaired, use a taxi or ridesharing service, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation
• Use your community's sober ride program
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don't hesitate to contact local law enforcement
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

If you are going to be traveling this holiday, check out the best times to travel on Long Island this weekend here.

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