NEW YORK — If you're planning to enjoy a cold drink over the holiday weekend and would have to drive home after, New York State Police are asking you to instead "have a plan" and not drive drunk.
State Police will be out this weekend to stop anyone who doesn't make a plan and instead drives impaired. Local and State Police will be increasing patrols and holding sobriety checkpoints to remove anyone from the roads who makes the decision to drive drunk.
Last Memorial Day weekend, State Troopers arrested 225 people for drinking and driving. They also issued 13,693 tickets and investigated 134 personal injury crashes.
Four people died in those crashes.
“As we remember our fallen heroes this Memorial Day, we can honor their sacrifices by protecting one another through responsible driving," New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said.
Need help with your plan? New York State offers a "Have a Plan" app for your Apple, Android or Windows smartphone. You'll be able to find a taxi to take you home through the app, and program a designated drivers list. You can also learn about the penalties for drunk driving in the app.
"It is more important than ever that we all do our part to spare our hospitals from avoidable emergencies. Remember to have a plan to get home safely," Schroeder added.
Drunk driving killed 295 people and injured 5,340 people in 2018 in New York State alone, according to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research at the University at Albany.
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