NYPD Prepares For Holiday Drunken-Driving Crackdown

NEW YORK, NY — New York City officials are planning a crackdown on drunken driving during the holiday season, one of the most dangerous times of the year for pedestrians. The NYPD will be running additional patrols through the Christmas season and into the new year to keep dangerous drivers off the road, officials announced Wednesday.

Highway patrol officers and local precinct cops will be searching for drivers who look like they might be intoxicated or on drugs behind the wheel, NYPD Transportation Chief Thomas Chan said. They won't hesitate to impound drunken drivers' cars if necessary, he said.

To discourage drunken driving, the Taxi and Limousine Commission is offering a $10 discount on any yellow or green cab ride hailed through the Curb smartphone app.

"The NYPD will be taking a strong stance against driving under the influence," Chan said at a news conference Wednesday. "Be it alcohol or drugs, there will be zero tolerance by our officers in terms of enforcement of this behavior."

The enforcement effort comes ahead of the winter solstice on Thursday. The shortest, darkest day of the year can also be one of the deadliest — pedestrian deaths are known to increase by as much as 40 percent from November through March, when it gets dark earliest, city Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said.

The NYPD will also place more cops at heavily trafficked pedestrian intersections, including areas near shopping malls and schools, in the evening hours to ticket drivers who are speeding, texting or failing to yield to crosswalks, Chan said.

Those areas can get even more dangerous during the holidays, when visitors flood the city to shop and celebrate, officials said.

Pedestrian deaths from November 2016 through March 2017 fell 25 percent compared to the year before after the city started enforcing traffic laws more aggressively at dusk, Trottenberg said.

Chan warned drivers to obey the speed limit and watch out for pedestrians. But pedestrians and cyclists should also be careful and not wear headphones or look at their phones while out on the street, he said.

"Our drivers try to pay attention and they should pay attention, but again, part of the responsibility is also on our pedestrians to pay attention when they're crossing our roadways," Chan said.

(Lead image: Pedestrians walk in Manhattan on Nov. 30. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)