St. Lawrence County police agencies will participate in a Thanksgiving weekend enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving, said a press release from the county’s STOP-DWI program.

The STOP-DWI Thanksgiving Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted with grant funding from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and implemented by the New York State STOP-DWI Foundation.

“While we spend Thanksgiving with friends and family giving praise and thanks for our good fortune and blessings, law enforcement officers across New York State will take to the roads in an effort to stop impaired driving, prevent injuries and save lives. The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on November 25th through the 29th,” said Michele James from the St. Lawrence County STOP-DWI program.

While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the number of alcohol and drug related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by impaired drivers, the press release said.

“People wrongly think they can calculate their own BAC based on the number of drinks they’ve had or the length of time between drinks,” the organization said.

There’s no easy formula that applies to everyone equally, STOP-DWI said. Many variable factors (e.g., body weight, alcohol content, and amount of food eaten before drinking) contribute to a person’s BAC. “You’re only ‘okay to drive’ if you haven’t been drinking or using drugs before getting behind the wheel,” the press release said.