Halloween DWI crackdown: extra patrols and sobriety checkpoints across New York from Sunday through Oct. 31
State Police and local departments will also target speeding and distracted drivers during the weeklong campaign. Halloween is one of the deadliest nights of the year for pedestrians, especially young children.
Photo: Kidfly182 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
- State Police and local law enforcement will run extra DWI patrols and sobriety checkpoints statewide from Sunday, Oct. 25, through Saturday, Oct. 31, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Saturday.
- Officers will also target drivers who are speeding or distracted; the campaign is funded by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.
- Last year's Halloween campaign produced 44,545 tickets, including 1,210 for impaired driving and 8,701 for speeding.
- A JAMA study cited by the state found pedestrian deaths are 43% more likely on Halloween, and children ages 4 to 8 are 10 times more likely to be hit by a vehicle that evening.
- The state's free 'Have a Plan' app helps find a taxi, set up designated drivers and report a suspected impaired driver.
If your Halloween plans involve a party, plan the ride home now. State Police and local law enforcement across New York will step up patrols from Sunday, Oct. 25, through Saturday, Oct. 31, looking for impaired, reckless, speeding and distracted drivers, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Saturday.
What to expect on the road
- Sobriety checkpoints and extra DWI patrols during the weeklong enforcement period, according to the governor's office.
- Speeding and distracted driving are targets too, not just drunk or drugged driving.
- The campaign is paid for by the state's Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, which funds similar crackdowns around the Super Bowl, St. Patrick's Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the December holidays.
During last year's Halloween campaign, officers wrote 44,545 tickets, including 1,210 for impaired driving and 8,701 for speeding, the state said, as CBS6 Albany and WNYT also reported.
Why Halloween
The governor's office cited federal and academic data on the risks. From 2019 to 2024, 176 people nationwide were killed in Halloween-night crashes involving a driver at or above the legal limit of 0.08 blood alcohol, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found the risk of a pedestrian death is 43% higher on Halloween than on other nights, and that children ages 4 to 8 are 10 times more likely to be hit by a vehicle that evening.
State Police Superintendent Steven G. James urged drivers to take extra care around trick-or-treaters. Sheriffs' association president Juan Figueroa noted that children in dark costumes may run across the road from house to house.
Getting home
The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee and the New York State STOP-DWI Foundation offer a free Have a Plan app for iPhone and Android. It helps you find and call a taxi, keep a list of designated drivers, look up DWI laws and penalties, and report a suspected impaired driver. In the city, the subway runs all night, and the weekend service changes are worth checking before you head out.
- Office of Gov. Kathy HochulGovernor Hochul Announces Increased State Police and Local Law Enforcement Patrols to Combat Impaired and Reckless Driving Through Halloween
- CBS6 Albany (WRGB)Gov. Hochul: State and local law enforcement to ramp up patrols through Halloween
- WNYT NewsChannel 13New York Halloween DWI patrols target impaired, speeding drivers
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