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Governor Cuomo Announces State Police Arrest 225 People for Imparied Driving Over Memorial Day Weekend

Written by Long Island News & PR  |  06. June 2019

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that State Police issued 13,693 tickets and arrested 225 people for impaired driving over Memorial Day weekend, as part of the STOP-DWI traffic enforcement period. The initiative, which targeted impaired and reckless drivers, began on Friday, May 24 and continued through Monday, May 27.
 
"Our message is simple: If you choose to drive after drinking or using drugs, you will be held accountable," Governor Cuomo said. "We will not stand for the preventable tragedies that are caused by impaired and reckless drivers, and we will continue our aggressive enforcement to make the roads safe for all who use them."
 
Acting State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said, "The results of this year's campaign show that far too many people are making the wrong decision, and getting behind the wheel while intoxicated or impaired by drugs. We have no tolerance for this behavior, and our Troopers will remain vigilant to remove these reckless individuals from our roadways."
 
"Memorial Day weekend should be a time to celebrate the start of the summer season and have fun with friends and family, but far too often the good times are cut short by a needless tragedy caused by impaired and irresponsible driving," said Acting Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner and Acting Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee Mark J.F. Schroeder. "We are grateful to the New York State Police and all of our other law enforcement agencies for their unyielding efforts to crack down on impaired and reckless driving to make our highways as safe as possible for everyone."
 
During the 54-hour STOP-DWI campaign, which was partially funded by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, the New York State Police increased patrols and conducted sobriety checkpoints to deter, identify and arrest impaired drivers.
 
State Troopers arrested 225 people for DWI and investigated 134 personal injury crashes, which resulted in 190 people getting injured and four fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also targeted speeding and aggressive drivers across the state. Below is a sampling of the tickets that were issued:
 
  • Speeding: 3,855
  • Distracted Driving: 392
  • Seatbelt violations: 3,327
  • Move Over Law: 267
Troopers used marked State Police vehicles as well as Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of this crackdown. CITE vehicles allow a Trooper to better observe driving violations because they blend in with everyday traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.
 
On Memorial Day weekend in 2018, Troopers arrested 234 people for impaired driving, and issued 13,318 total tickets.
 
Results of the Memorial Day 2019 enforcement by Troop can be found here.

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