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“Some people, including college students home on school break for Thanksgiving Day, like to kick-off the long holiday weekend at house parties or at drinking establishments on what has come to be called 'Blackout Wednesday' the evening before Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately, that all too often can result in people getting behind the wheel after they’ve had too much to drink”, said Town of Kent Police Department Chief Alexander W. DiVernieri, Jr.
The holiday festivities usually gives rise to increased incidents of impaired driving and drinking related crashes, resulting in injuries and deaths on New York roadways, the Sherrif's office said in a release. In 2012, 416 motorists died during the Thanksgiving Day weekend across the country.
Highly visible and highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to futher reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving. Research shows that high-visibility enforcement can reduce drunk driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent, the release said.
“We are letting people know this in advance as a deterrent to drunk driving, and to remind folks that they must drink responsibly or make appropriate plans now to either have a designated driver or use a taxi,” said Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith.
Smith added that sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Kent Police Department will be on the lookout for drunk drivers around Thanksgiving Day.
The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween and other national holiday season in December.
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