PLATTSBURGH — Police are cracking down on impaired driving for the Labor Day weekend.
Now through Monday, Sept. 3, state and local law-enforcement agencies will be setting up sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols as part of the STOP-DWI program, according to a statement from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.
This is the fifth statewide crackdown to take place this year
In addition to their ongoing efforts, officers will work to deter motorists from driving while intoxicated in order to ensure safe travel for everyone heading out on the road this holiday.
Police remind the public that drivers in the state of New York are considered to be over the legal limit if their blood-alcohol content is 0.08 or higher.
All 62 counties in the state participate in the holiday program. In exchange for participating, they can qualify to receive the funds collected from all alcohol and other drug-related traffic offenses and fines collected during the crackdown.
Two crackdown periods remain in 2012: Oct. 26 through Oct. 31 for Halloween, and Dec. 12 through Jan. 1 for the holiday season.
STOP-DWI was established in most counties by 1982, a year after the STOP-DWI law was enacted following years of advocacy by U.S. Sen. William T. Smith, whose daughter was killed by an impaired driver in 1973, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Email Miranda Orso:
morso@pressrepublican.com
