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Police St. Patrick’s Day DWI crackdown in St. Lawrence County starts Friday

Posted 3/12/15

The St. Lawrence County STOP-DWI Program is warning county residents that a spike in drunk-driving fatalities around St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, could prove deadly, and there will be elevated …

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Police St. Patrick’s Day DWI crackdown in St. Lawrence County starts Friday

Posted

The St. Lawrence County STOP-DWI Program is warning county residents that a spike in drunk-driving fatalities around St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, could prove deadly, and there will be elevated traffic enforcement around that day.

St. Lawrence County law enforcement agencies will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving.

The New York State STOP-DWI Enforcement Crackdown efforts start on March 13 and will end on March 18. New York State Police, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Potsdam Police Department, Ogdensburg Police Department, Norwood Police Department, New York State Park Police, SUNY Potsdam University Police and municipal law enforcement agencies across the state will be out in an effort to reduce the number of impaired driving injuries and deaths.

March 17 has become a deadly day in the United States, with a dramatic spike in drunk-driving fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend in 2013, more than a third (40 percent) of all crash fatalities involved drunk drivers. The night of March 17—St. Patrick’s Day—was especially bad. In the post-celebration hours between midnight and 5:59 a.m. March 18, half of all crash fatalities involved drunk drivers.

“And we’re not just talking about a little bit too much to drink here; from 2009 to 2013, almost three-fourths of the drunk-driving fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day involved drivers who were twice the legal limit,” a press release from county Traffic Safety Coordinator Michele James said.

“There will be no warnings,” she said. “Our message is simple—Don’t drink or drug and drive. Violators can lose their licenses; pay increased insurance rates; may have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle; pay fines and surcharges as well as DMV fees.”

The funding for this crackdown was provided by the New York State STOP- DWI Foundation through a grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During this time period, law enforcement will vigorously enforce laws related to driving while impaired with special emphasis on impaired driving either by alcohol or drugs.

All drinking driving fines collected in the county from convicted drunk drivers fund the St. Lawrence County STOP-DWI Program.