Governor Hochul Announces State Police Arrest 207 People for Impaired Driving Over Columbus Day Weekend

 

Troopers Issue Nearly 18,000 Tickets During Campaign, Including More Than 7,300 Tickets For Speeding

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State Police issued 17,797 tickets and arrested 207 people for impaired driving during the special traffic enforcement detail over Columbus Day weekend. The initiative - which targeted speeding and impaired drivers - began on Thursday, October 7th and continued through Tuesday, October 12th. Statewide, law enforcement issued a total of 38,255 tickets during the enforcement period, including 828 for impaired driving and 10,593 for speeding.

"The tragedies caused by speeding and impaired driving are completely avoidable if we all commit to making safety our top priority when we are behind the wheel," Governor Hochul said. "We will continue to have zero tolerance for impaired drivers who put others in danger."

State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said, "The results of this campaign show that far too many people put their lives and the lives of others at risk through the poor choices they make while driving. Our troopers will continue to crack down on reckless and impaired drivers in an effort to keep our roads safe for all users."

During the special enforcement period, which was 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 207 people for impaired driving and investigated 1,031 automobile crashes, including one fatal crash and 159 personal injury crashes.

As part of the enforcement, Troopers also targeted speeding, aggressive and distracted drivers across the State.

Below is a sampling of the total tickets that were issued.

Speeding                    7,389

Distracted Driving          410

Seatbelt violations         707

Move Over Law             143

Troopers used both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of this crackdown in order to more easily identify motorists who are violating the law. CITE vehicles allow the Trooper to better observe driving violations.  These vehicles blend in with every day traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.