New York State Police, Local and County Law Enforcement to Crack Down on Impaired and Reckless Driving this Memorial Day Weekend

The New York State Police, along with other local and county law enforcement will increase patrols to combat drunk, impaired, and reckless driving throughout this Memorial Day weekend. The special enforcement period starts on Friday, May 22, 2026, and runs through Monday, May 25, 2026. The extra patrols during this period are being funded through GTSC grants. Memorial Day is one of the busiest travel holidays of the year and police will be out in force to remove impaired and reckless drivers from our highways.

Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols by State Police and local law enforcement agencies during this holiday weekend. Troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of this crackdown to more easily identify motorists who are violating the law. CITE vehicles allow the Trooper to better observe driving violations.  These vehicles blend in with everyday traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2025, Troopers arrested 245 people for driving while impaired, issued 12,062 total tickets, and investigated 774 crashes, which resulted in three reported fatal crashes.

This initiative is partially funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC). The GTSC and the New York State STOP-DWI Foundation remind motorists that their “Have a Plan” mobile app is available for Apple, Droid and Windows smartphones. The app enables New Yorkers to locate and call a taxi service and program a designated driver list. It also provides information on DWI laws and penalties, and a way to even report a suspected impaired driver.