NEW YORK- Increased road patrols to combat drunk, impaired, and reckless driving this St. Patrick’s Day will begin this weekend with police agencies around the state receiving funding for the increased patrols through the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. The enforcement period begins on Friday, March 15, 2024, and runs through Sunday, March 17, 2024.
Drivers can expect to encounter additional DWI patrols and a number of sobriety checkpoints during the enforcement period.
“Make safety your number one priority, arrange for a sober ride home, and don’t be a risk to yourself or others out on the roads,” said New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven G. James.
During last year’s St. Patrick’s Day impaired driving enforcement, state police arrested 220 people for DWI, issued 246 tickets for distracted driving and 11,648 tickets in total.
Drunk driving kills more than 10,000 people each year across the nation, with one person dying of an alcohol related crash every 39 minutes.
