Police To Crack Down On DWIs Over Holiday Weekend

State and local law enforcement will have increased patrols out over the Memorial Day weekend in order to combat drunk, impaired and reckless driving, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

The STOP-DWI enforcement program will begin on Friday, May 24 and run through Monday, May 27. Memorial Day is one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, and police will be out in force to catch impaired and reckless drivers.

"Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the summer travel season, meaning more traffic and the potential for dangerous driving on highways," Cuomo said. "As State Police and local law enforcement step up their efforts to crack down on impaired and reckless driving this weekend, I am urging all motorists to drive responsibly, don't get behind the wheel if you have been drinking and plan ahead for a sober ride home."

Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols by State Police and local law enforcement during the weekend. Troopers will be using both marked and unmarked cars as part of this crackdown in order to more easily identify drivers who are violating the law.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2018, troopers arrested 237 people for drinking and driving, issued 13,318 tickets and investigated 154 personal injury crashes, which resulted in eight deaths. In addition to the New York State Police, numerous counties and agencies throughout the state also participated in last year's Memorial Day Crackdown.