Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Police issued a total of 9,214 tickets statewide during the Memorial Day Weekend enforcement campaign to combat drunk and impaired driving. The enforcement period began on Friday, May 28 and continued through Tuesday, June 1.

"Driving while impaired is reckless and irresponsible behavior and it will not be tolerated in this state -- period," Governor Cuomo said. "New Yorkers need to make responsible choices and drive sober or get a ride when you're unable to safely get behind the wheel. Failing to do so will result in real consequences or needless and avoidable tragedies."

During the campaign, which was partially funded by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, State Police utilized sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, and ticketed distracted drivers who used handheld electronic devices. Troopers arrested 185 people for DWI and investigated 851 crashes, including 163 personal injury crashes and two fatalities.

Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles and Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, Mark J.F. Schroeder, said, "I applaud the New York State Police and all law enforcement across the state for their vigilance and commitment to getting impaired drivers off our roads. The reckless decision to drive impaired is not only costly, but often leads to deadly consequences. Avoid tragedies by having a plan to get home safely."

State Police Acting Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said, "While we have made strides to reduce impaired driving, these results are proof that far too many people are still making the wrong decision and getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol or using drugs. We have no tolerance for this behavior, and our Troopers will remain vigilant to remove these reckless individuals from our roadways."

As part of the enforcement, Troopers also targeted speeding and aggressive drivers across the state. Below is a sampling of the total tickets that were issued.

Speeding                               3,991

Distracted Driving                415

Seatbelt violations               3,100

Move Over Law                   177

During last year's Memorial Day Weekend enforcement campaign, which ran from Friday, May 22, 2020, through Tuesday, May 26, the State Police issued 8,907 total tickets and arrested 203 people for DWI.

Below is a breakdown of violations by troop:

Troop	Region	Speed	DWI Arrests (# of persons)	Distracted Driving	Child Restraint/ Seat Belt	Move Over	Total Tickets (includes other violations)
A	Western NY	404	21	38	612	6	1,823
B	North Country	269	11	13	128	14	1,061
C	Southern Tier	361	10	26	273	21	1,046
D	Central NY	314	17	63	473	6	1,615
E	Finger Lakes	328	11	29	336	13	1,464
F	Upper Hudson Valley	387	44	63	439	11	1,737
G	Capital Region	312	12	39	280	8	1,149
K	Lower Hudson Valley	759	22	60	170	49	1,597
L	Long Island	141	9	15	32	6	532
NYC	New York City	37	1	21	107	1	454
T	NYS Thruway	679	27	48	250	42	1,771