SYRACUSE -- St. Patrick's Day is a busy night for Syracuse Police.
Officer David Metz is on patrol, trying to curb drunk driving. "There are more impaired drivers out there now because there are more people out drinking," said Metz. Thursday night, there is heightened police presence around bars on Tipperary Hill and in downtown Syracuse as the St. Patrick's Day celebration filters into the streets.
Officers are on the lookout for impaired drivers, making sure those who have had too much to drink don't get behind the wheel. "We see people running lights, passing through stop signs, changing lanes unsafely. Those are the tell tale signs someone is intoxicated," said Syracuse Police Capt. Shannon Trice.
Over the next few days, you can expect to see checkpoints and more road patrols as police state-wide enforce a DWI crackdown. On average, Syracuse Police make eight to ten DWI arrests per day during one of these crackdown periods.
"It's a very serious problem. 42,000 people die a year in crashes, about half of those are DWI related," said Trice. "It's a senseless crime, one that is easily preventable just takes a few extra seconds to arrange that ride, call a taxi, that's what we're encouraging everybody to do."
The crackdown runs through Sunday. There are seven scheduled crackdowns throughout the year around different holidays like New Year's Day and the Fourth of July.
