Moving violations up on LI during holiday crackdown, state police say
New York State troopers at a DWI checkpoint in Patchogue in 2018. Credit: Christopher Sabella
State police issued nearly 3,000 moving violation tickets on Long Island during the final two weeks of 2022 through New Year's Day — an almost 14% increase over the same period one year earlier, state officials said.
A total of 2,931 tickets were issued on Long Island by state police between Dec. 14, 2022 and Jan. 1, 2023, which was considered a National DWI crackdown period. These included 845 for speeding, 134 for distracted driving and 75 for motorists or children not wearing a seat belt, officials said. An additional 49 Long Islanders were arrested on DWI charges, officials said, compared with the year before when 48 were arrested on drunken driving charges.
The figures for moving violations are an increase from the same period the year before, when members of Troop L in Farmingdale issued 2,572 tickets from Dec. 15, 2021, through Jan. 1, 2022.
"We will not stand for the preventable tragedies that are caused by impaired and reckless drivers, and we will continue our aggressive enforcement measures to make the roads safe for all who use them," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
Across the state, during the same two-week crackdown at the end of 2022, overall moving violation tickets were down from the year before. There were 32,934 tickets issued statewide by state police, including more than 11,300 for speeding, 916 seat belt violations, 912 for distracted driving and more than 300 for failing to move over for emergency vehicles or first responders.
An additional 453 motorists were arrested statewide on drunken driving charges, and state police investigated 4,417 accidents, which resulted in 528 people being injured, and eight fatalities during that period, officials said.
State police had issued 35,016 total tickets statewide from Dec. 15, 2021, to Jan. 1, 2022, and made 522 DWI arrests, officials said.
"These numbers are another sign that these efforts are working to keep our streets and highways safe," said Mark Schroeder, commissioner of the State Department of Motor Vehicles and chairman of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee. "If you are going to be out and celebrating, make a plan and get yourself and everyone else home safely. It's simple to do and can make all the difference."
During the DWI campaign, state police in both marked and unmarked vehicles utilized sobriety checkpoints and additional DWI patrols, and ticketed distracted drivers who used handheld electronic devices, authorities said.
"One of the mission priorities of the New York State Police is to improve highway safety by focusing on reducing drunk and impaired driving crashes," state police acting Superintendent Steven Nigrelli said in a statement. "Through our recent enforcement efforts, as well the work troopers do on a daily basis, we have made our roadways safer for the public."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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