The New York State Police and local law enforcement agencies will participate in a special traffic safety initiative to prevent unsafe driving behaviors as the winter holiday season kicks off.

The Thanksgiving weekend initiative runs through Sunday.

“Troopers will be highly visible throughout the Thanksgiving weekend and on the lookout for impaired and reckless drivers,” said New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen. “Please follow posted speed limits, put down your mobile phone, and make sure to slow down move over for emergency and highway maintenance vehicles. Most importantly, don’t get behind the wheel if you are impaired. Our goal is to ensure that everyone gets to their holiday celebrations safety.”

Police will supplement regular patrols statewide with dedicated impaired driving patrols including Drug Recognition Experts, fixed sobriety checkpoints, underage drinking enforcement, speed enforcement, and the use of Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) patrol vehicles to better locate drivers talking or texting on handheld devices. These unmarked vehicles blend in with everyday traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.

Elevated traffic volumes typically occur during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It is also a time when alcohol consumption is widespread. During the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday period, troopers arrested 155 drivers for DWI, issued 4,871 speeding tickets and 228 tickets for distracted driving. Statewide, law enforcement arrested 901 people for DWI, issued 7,406 tickets for speeding and 627 tickets for distracted driving.