DIX HILLS, N.Y. – Drive sober, or get pulled over.
That’s the message of a significant push to launch throughout New York beginning subsequent week.
The objective of that marketing campaign is to crack down on drunk and impaired driving.
As CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff reviews, even with a lot drunk driving training, crashes are surprisingly spiking.
“I’ll never be the same person I was when I left my home that day,” mentioned Suffolk County Police Officer Timothy Thrane.
One second final November, Thrane was directing site visitors round a automobile crash – the subsequent, he was a sufferer of a drunk driver. A sequence response crash practically killed the daddy of three. He suffered a fractured cranium, a mind bleed, and damaged bones. After months in a coma, he must study to stroll once more.
Thrane is now educating the dire penalties of dangerous selections he calls 100% preventable.
“Get a ride home. You might make it home some nights drinking, but one night you won’t. You’re going to pay the consequences,” Thrane mentioned.
His plea comes amid troubling new numbers. The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee reviews a spike in impaired driving crashes – up 11% in New York state from 2020-21. Suffolk County is up 23%.
Drivers fear elevated rideshare costs are an element.
“They don’t want to pay for that,” one individual mentioned.
“Growing up, all you ever heard was don’t drive drunk, and I thought we were kind of past it, but I guess not,” mentioned one other.
Police will be out in force from Aug. 19 through Labor Day Weekend. Expect sobriety checkpoints and specifically skilled officers to detect non-alcohol impairment.
“While impaired drivers may think they are less likely to cause a crash or get caught if they take local roads or a route they are familiar with, that is not the case. Local police will be highly visible during this campaign,” mentioned Christian Jackstadt, government deputy commissioner of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles.
They advocate the state’s free cell app, known as “Have A Plan,” to discover a rideshare, plan your evening and report a drunk driver.
“You’re more likely to lose a loved one in a car-related accident due to DWI than assault or robbery or other means,” mentioned Suffolk County Police Chief of Patrol Gerhard Hardy.
Thrane says there isn’t any excuse.
“You don’t want to be the good person who makes the poor choice and has to live with the fact that you killed or severely injured someone,” Thrane mentioned.
Soon, he hopes to return to policing, to proceed to unfold a lifesaving message.
Nassau and Suffolk Counties had essentially the most impaired driving fatalities of all counties in the state final yr.
During final yr’s marketing campaign, legislation enforcement throughout New York state arrested practically 2,600 folks for impaired driving.