Increased Law Enforcement Now Through The New Year, Why?

Pretty soon, many New Yorkers will put their out-of-office messages up on their email, clean out the office fridge of any questionable items, and wrap up another year of work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 75 and 80% of U.S. workers plan to use some sort of PTO, paid time off, around the Christmas holidays. With that, many of those people will hit the road for the holidays with AAA predicting that year end travel will be record breaking this year with 122.4 million Americans projected to leave town during the holidays.

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STOP-DWI Holiday Crackdown

With holiday travel in mind, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month actually falls in December, encouraging safe celebrations surrounding the holidays. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports statistics that nearly 5.000 people nationwide were killed during the month of December between 2019 to 2023 in alcohol-related crashes.

As the state does with many other major holidays and notable celebrations (Labor Day, Memorial Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day and Super Bowl weekend), New York is once again participating in a visibility enforcement campaign that will run through New Year's Day 2026.

In order to bring awareness to the dangers of impaired driving, as well as prevent injuries and prevent any loss of life, agencies and law enforcement officers across NYS, in collaboration with STOP-DWI programs, will be participating in special engagement efforts. This particular campaign actually kicked off on December 10th in some areas.

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What Does A High Visibility Engagement Campaign Mean?

This focused effort across agencies in New York State means that departments will step up their patrols in order to reduce the amount of alcohol-related crashes and drunk/impaired driving.

With Dutchess County on board for the campaign, County Executive Sue Serino has shared the following:

Let’s all do our part to keep everyone safe on the roads this joyous holiday season. If you plan to celebrate with friends and loved ones, please make sure you have a safe way to get home. As always, I thank our hard-working, law-enforcement officers who protect our roads throughout the year.

New Yorkers are also encouraged to download the 'Have a Plan' mobile app, and/or arrange for alternative transportation ahead of alcohol-involved holiday celebrations.