Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that New York State Police issued 13,693 tickets and arrested 225 people for impaired driving over Memorial Day weekend, as part of the STOP-DWI traffic enforcement period. The initiative, which targeted impaired and reckless drivers, began Friday, May 24 and continued through Monday, May 27.

“Our message is simple: If you choose to drive after drinking or using drugs, you will be held accountable,” Governor Cuomo said. “We will not stand for the preventable tragedies that are caused by impaired and reckless drivers, and we will continue our aggressive enforcement to make the roads safe for all who use them.”

During the 54-hour STOP-DWI campaign, which was partially funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, New York State Police increased patrols and conducted sobriety checkpoints to deter, identify and arrest impaired drivers.

Acting State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said, “The results of this year’s campaign show that far too many people are making the wrong decision, and getting behind the wheel while intoxicated or impaired by drugs. We have no tolerance for this behavior, and our Troopers will remain vigilant to remove these reckless individuals from our roadways.”

Troopers used marked State Police vehicles as well as Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of this crackdown. CITE vehicles allow a Trooper to better observe driving violations because they blend in with everyday traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.

State Troopers arrested 225 people for DWI and investigated 134 personal injury crashes, which resulted in 190 people getting injured and four fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also targeted speeding and aggressive drivers across the state. Below is a sampling of the tickets that were issued:

Speeding: 3,855

Distracted Driving: 392

Seatbelt violations: 3,327

Move Over Law: 267

On Memorial Day weekend in 2018, Troopers arrested 234 people for impaired driving, and issued 13,318 total tickets.

“Memorial Day weekend should be a time to celebrate the start of the summer season and have fun with friends and family, but far too often the good times are cut short by a needless tragedy caused by impaired and irresponsible driving,” said Acting Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner and Acting Chair of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee Mark J.F. Schroeder. “We are grateful to the New York State Police and all of our other law enforcement agencies for their unyielding efforts to crack down on impaired and reckless driving to make our highways as safe as possible for everyone.”

Results broken down by Troop are as follows:

Troop A – Western NY: 21 DWI arrests, 315 speeding tickets, 36 distracted driving tickets, 489 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 15 move over tickets and 1,362 total tickets including other violations.

Troop B – North County: 17 DWI arrests, 256 speeding tickets, 15 distracted driving tickets, 180 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 51 move over tickets and 1,042 total tickets including other violations.

Troop C – Southern Tier: 8 DWI arrests, 298 speeding tickets, 21 distracted driving tickets, 187 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 11 move over tickets and 909 total tickets including other violations.

Troop D – Central NY: 22 DWI arrests, 265 speeding tickets, 72 distracted driving tickets, 281 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 15 move over tickets and 1,173 total tickets including other violations.

Troop E – Finger Lakes: 21 DWI arrests, 467 speeding tickets, 20 distracted driving tickets, 273 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 46 move over tickets and 1,447 total tickets including other violations.

Troop F – Upper Hudson Valley: 46 DWI arrests, 301 speeding tickets, 23 distracted driving tickets, 398 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 19 move over tickets and 1,363 total tickets including other violations.

Troop G – Capital Region: 27 DWI arrests, 436 speeding tickets, 58 distracted driving tickets, 178 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 19 move over tickets and 1,282 total tickets including other violations.

Troop K – Lower Hudson Valley: 30 DWI arrests, 601 speeding tickets, 39 distracted driving tickets, 481 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 40 move over tickets and 1,758 total tickets including other violations.

Troop L – Long Island: 16 DWI arrests, 176 speeding tickets, 28 distracted driving tickets, 41 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 3 move over tickets and 591 total tickets including other violations.

Troop NYC – New York City: 0 DWI arrests, 15 speeding tickets, 31 distracted driving tickets, 249 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 2 move over tickets and 783 total tickets including other violations.

Troop T – NYS Thruway: 17 DWI arrests, 725 speeding tickets, 49 distracted driving tickets, 570 child restraint/seat belt tickets, 46 move over tickets and 1,983 total tickets including other violations.