by In New York, an eight-day crackdown on dangerous driving has just ended, during which a large number of fines were issued. The campaign was aimed at combating drunk driving, but more fines were issued for distracted driving. Most violations were related to “other” offenses, with speeding being the second most popular violation. St. Patrick’s Day might have already passed, but this time it was a true “clean-up.” The state announced a special period of increased enforcement from March 10 to 17, during which so many fines were issued that you might think they were trying to set some kind of record.
In fact, nearly 56,000 tickets were issued, averaging about 290 tickets every hour for eight consecutive days. Surprisingly, only two percent of these tickets were for drunk driving. During the eight days, law enforcement used checkpoints to catch drunk drivers and increased patrolling to ensure road safety. This is similar to other campaigns aimed at preventing accidents involving drunk drivers, which the state conducts during Independence Day, Halloween, and other holidays. But on St.
Patrick’s Day, there was a certain shift. It’s worth noting that alcohol consumption is practically a cultural tradition for this holiday, so you can imagine the level of attention it draws. “Public safety is my top priority, and together with our partners in law enforcement, we are combating dangerous and illegal driving that puts our communities at risk,” said Governor Hochul. “I am always ready to protect New Yorkers, and I urge all drivers to behave responsibly during holidays, celebrations, and beyond.”
Now, the data from this little enforcement blitz… well, it’s interesting.
Of the 55,661 tickets issued, practically 40,000 were for “other violations,” whatever they may be. We assume that this covers everything from running red lights to impeding highway traffic. The second most common violation was speeding, with 10,314 tickets. To put this into perspective, that’s 53 speeding tickets issued every hour for eight days. Interestingly, although the program was supposed to address drunk driving, the state issued only 1,224 tickets specifically for this kind of offense.
That’s a little more than six tickets per hour over the eight-day enforcement period. The state issued nearly twice as many citations for distracted driving. In fact, this campaign could have been called the Seatbelt Awareness Campaign on St. Patrick’s Day, as more citations were issued for unbuckled seatbelts (1,428) than for drunk driving. At least 364 people were fined for not yielding.
This only proves that drivers don’t necessarily have to be drunk to make a multitude of other mistakes.
