DWI crackdown for Labor Day begins Friday, State Police say
The eastbound Long Island Expressway in Suffolk County on September 3, 2015. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
State Police will take part in the annual late summer crackdown against drunken and drugged driving through the Labor Day holiday.
The national campaign, called Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, begins Friday and runs for more than two weeks until Monday, Sept. 3. That is one of the busiest driving periods of the year.
Only 25¢ for 5 months
State Police will take part in the annual late summer crackdown against drunken and drugged driving through the Labor Day holiday.
The national campaign, called Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, begins Friday and runs for more than two weeks until Monday, Sept. 3. That is one of the busiest driving periods of the year.
"Unfortunately, this increased flow of traffic brings with it increased accidents, serious injuries and fatalities," State Police said in a news release.
"While we want everyone to enjoy the final few weeks of summer, we want them to do so responsibly. We have zero tolerance for reckless individuals who choose to drive while impaired," State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said in the news release.
State troopers and other law enforcement officers will be making sobriety checkpoints, watching for distracted drivers and enforcing other driving laws, Beach said. There will be also more troopers on major highways.
State Police made 193 DWI arrests and issued 21,900 tickets during last year’s enforcement effort, Beach said.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.