Putnam Sheriff's Office, Carmel Police Start St. Patrick's Day STOP-DWI Action

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith and Town of Carmel Police Department Chief Michael Cazzari report that their departments will be jointly coordinating increased patrols for drunk drivers March 17-20.

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

“Celebrating our diverse ethnic heritages is a wonderful thing that we do as Americans, and St. Patrick’s Day is a great holiday for people of Irish ancestry to be sure,” said Cazzari in a prepared statement. “But all too often the festivities can result in some people drinking too much and then getting behind the wheel of a car—and that can result in tragedy."

The Putnam campaign dovetails with the New York State Police campaign, which began March 12 and ends March 17.

Historically, holiday festivities usually gives rise to increased incidents of impaired driving and drinking related crashes, resulting in injuries and deaths on New York roadways. The time around St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest holidays due to the number of drunk drivers on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the St. Patrick’s Day holiday period from 2010 to 2014 saw the loss of 266 lives nationally due to drunk-driving crashes.

Highly visible and highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving. Research shows that high-visibility enforcement can reduce drunk driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent, officials said.

Smith said that sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Carmel Police Department will be on the lookout for drunk drivers this St. Patrick’s Day and throughout the weekend. “We are letting people know this in advance as a deterrent to drunk driving, and to remind folks that they must drink responsibly or make appropriate plans now to either have a designated driver or use a taxi,” he said.

The STOP-DWI Labor Day Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York 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, officials said.

The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the national holiday season in December.