More Drunk, Distracted Drivers Nabbed in 2015 Thanksgiving Crackdown

Targeting drunk and distracted drivers, the New York State Police issued more than 14,000 tickets in its Thanksgiving weekend crackdown.

The enforcement period kicked off the day before the holiday, Nov. 25, and ran through Sunday, Nov. 29. Cops 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 which targets drivers talking or texting on handheld devices. More than 5,000 vehicles passed through these checkpoints during the holiday weekend.

Troopers issued a total of 14,468 tickets during the Thanksgiving campaign, including 5,910 for speeding and 715 for distracted driving -- and made a total of 218 DWI arrests. That’s more in every category than in 2014, when during Thanksgiving weekend, 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,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “I commend State Police keeping these dangerous drivers off the roads and helping to prevent needless tragedies this 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.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2013, 301 people were killed in traffic crashes nationwide during the holiday weekend.

This year over the same time period, state police were at the scene of more than 1,100 crashes, but only one fatal accident, and that resulted in a single death, officials said.