(Madison County, NY – May 2015) Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley announced that Madison County police agencies will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving.
The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on May 22 and will end on May 26. Memorial Day week is historically a deadly period for impaired driving. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional beginning of summer. In addition there will be thousands of parties and barbecues to celebrate graduations, proms, communions, confirmations and the fact that the better weather has arrived. This combination of factors equates to more people on the road in general and more people specifically driving impaired.
The New York State Police, County Sheriff’s and municipal law enforcement agencies will collaborate across the state and will be out in force in this coordinated effort to reduce the number of alcohol related injuries and deaths during this period.
“We want people to enjoy the holiday and all its’ festivities, but above all – be safe and be careful” said Riley. “The rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes is four times higher at night than during the day.”
The Memorial Day Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association with additional funding from the STOP-DWI Foundation with a grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets 4th of July and Labor Day Weekend, Halloween and the national Holiday Season in December.
Riley said that impaired drivers not only take the risk of hurting or killing themselves or someone else, the trauma and financial costs of an alcohol-impaired-driving crash or an arrest can be significant. Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver licenses, higher insurance rates and dozens of other unanticipated expenses.
While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol and drug related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers. Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving.
“Alcohol impairs many of the skills that safe driving requires. So we will be showing zero tolerance, and anyone caught driving with a BAC of .08 or higher will be arrested,” said the Sheriff. “It’s simply not worth the risk to you or to the thousands of innocent victims who are hurt or killed each year by impaired drivers. So if you are over the limit, you will get arrested.”