Amid COVID-19 Precautions, Police Enforce Memorial Day STOP-DWI Crackdown

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New York State Police will increase highway patrols to combat drunk, impaired and reckless driving throughout the Memorial Day weekend. The STOP-DWI enforcement period starts Friday and runs through Tuesday. State Police and local law enforcement partners will be out in force to remove impaired and reckless drivers from our highways.

State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said: “As we take time this Memorial Day to honor those who died in service to our county, we remind motorists to make safety the top priority. If your holiday plans include alcohol, please arrange for a safe ride home. Driving impaired is a choice that often has serious and even deadly consequences? State Troopers will be highly visible this weekend, and will have zero tolerance for impaired, reckless and distracted drivers.”

Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols during this Memorial Day weekend. Troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles in the crackdown in order to more easily identify motorists who are violating the law. These vehicles blend in with every day traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.

Chemung County Sheriff William A. Schrom, in a news release, reminded Southern Tier residents to celebrate responsibly this Memorial Day weekend and make sure you have a safe ride home.

According to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) at the University at Albany, drunk driving killed 295 people and injured 5,340 others in New York State during 2018. Another 314 people were killed in drug-related crashes.