Police make push to curb drunken driving

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

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Law enforcement agencies around the state will be out in force this post-holiday weekend, looking for drunken drivers.

The statewide enforcement effort is being headed by STOP DWI New York, with officers from state and local departments out using checkpoints and increased patrols in an effort to get drunken drivers off the roads.

The special enforcement effort runs today through Monday and is one of several holiday-centered drunk driving enforcement efforts throughout the year.

Schenectady County agencies are no different, with departments either working on their own or with each other, looking for holiday revelers who have had too much to drink and are endangering themselves and others on the road.

In Niskayuna, police spokesman Detective Sgt. Daniel McManus said his department will have extra patrols out looking for drunken drivers on all of the town’s roads.

The Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department is also participating, working with other agencies and, when manpower dictates, on its own, Sheriff Dominic Dagostino said.

He declined to say exactly what is planned, whether it be saturation patrols or checkpoints, but he said officers will be out looking.

Checkpoints involved standardized questions of drivers, including where they’re coming from, where they’re going and whether they’ve been drinking, Dagostino noted.

The saturation patrols involve vehicle and traffic stops for speeding and other infractions that can lead to DWI arrests.

“We always look for 100 percent compliance, knowing we probably won’t get that,” Dagostino said.

“We are looking forward to a safe and responsible weekend for people on the roadways,” he added.