Police Plan Labor Day Weekend DWI Checkpoints

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith and Town of Kent Police Department Chief Alexander W. DiVernieri, Jr.report that their departments will be jointly conducting sobriety checkpoints along area roadways during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

The announcement of the planned checkpoints is aimed at deterring intoxicated or impaired driving and is part of a statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown effort.

“Labor Day celebrations include end-of-summer gatherings of friends for picnics and backyard barbecues, whichcan sometimes result in increased instances of persons drinking alcohol at such gatherings and then driving cars,”said Chief DiVernieri. “The officers and deputies will be out there to deter people from driving drunk.”

Historically, holiday festivities usually gives rise to increased incidents of impaired driving and drinking relatedcrashes, resulting in injuries and deaths on New York roadways. In an effort to deter DWI offenses this summer, the New York State Police, County Sheriffs, and local law enforcement agencies across the state will be out inforce this weekend, on the lookout for impaired drivers.

While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol and drug-related fatalities, too many lives are still being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers.

Highly visible and highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving.

Sheriff Smith said that sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Kent Police Department will coordinate to set up sobriety checkpoints at several different location and screen motorists for signs of impairment.

“We are letting people know this in advance as a reminder that they should drink responsibly or make appropriate plans now to have a designated driver or use a taxi,” said the Sheriff.

The STOP-DWI Labor Day Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the NewYork State STOP-DWI Association and funded by local STOP-DWI programs, the STOP-DWI Foundation, and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. This multi-agency partnership has allowed local programs to significantly increase their DWI enforcement and public awareness efforts. The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Halloween and the national holiday season in December.