The Christmas and New Year’s holiday are times when many people in New York City and the surrounding communities and counties like to get together and have fun with friends and relatives. Of course, for many people, this includes enjoying a few drinks.
It is no surprise, therefore, that state law enforcement officers, including the New York State Police, like to pay extra attention to DWI enforcement during these times of the year, as it seems more likely that they will be able to apprehend an alleged drunk driver returning home from a family gathering or from an office party or other occasion.
At least with respect to the New York State Police, there final tallies are in for their most recent holiday crackdown at the end of 2018. According to sources, this law enforcement unit made almost 800 arrests across the state between December 13, 2018, and January 1 of this year. It was not clear how many of those arrests actually led to drunk driving charges.
Police also say that they wrote just under 49,000 traffic citations during the same period of time, in addition to investigating hundreds of accidents involving at least one personal injury.
It is important for those New Yorkers who had the misfortune of being caught in this nationwide law enforcement campaign to remember that an arrest for a DWI is not the same, not even close to the same, as being convicted. While it might be tempting to just get the whole affair over with by pleading guilty, drunk driving charges can carry serious and unexpected consequences with them. It is generally a good idea to go over one’s options with an experienced DWI defense attorney.
