An Onondaga County Sheriff's Deputy pours out a beer can on a DWI stop on Sunday night.
/ Tom Eschen
ONONDAGA COUNTY -- Extra Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies patrolled Onondaga County this weekend as a part of the STOP DWI program.
On Super Bowl Sunday, at least four more patrols roamed the streets, looking for signs of people drinking and driving. On one of the biggest party days of the year, they thought it was necessary to keep a close eye on the roads.
"We know it's an exciting day for sports fans and obviously pepole like to go to Super Bowl parties at homes and also sports themed bars and restaurants to enjoy the game," Sgt. Crayg Dykes says. "We just want to make sure people are out drinking responsibly and more importantly, driving responsibly."
Onondaga County Sheriff Deputy Joe Strom allowed CNY Central to accompany him on his patrol Sunday evening (You can see some footage of his travels in the video above). Strom's sole task is to look for signs of drunk drivers, and he says he looks for several small indicators that give him cause to pull people over.
He pointed out things like swerving into lanes, crossing over the double yellow line and even leaving a blinker on are not only violations, but signs that the driver could be under the influence of alcohol.
On Sunday night, Strom pulled over a car that had its blinker on after it made the turn, and a part of his taillamp out. The driver ended up failing the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DWI. Strom also saw open containers of beer in the car, which made him suspect the person had been drinking.
