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Genesee County to take part in statewide STOP-DWI Labor Day crackdown

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Genesee County STOP-DWI Coordinator Matt Landers announced today that the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, City of Batavia Police Department and the Village of Le Roy Police Department will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving. The statewide STOP-DWI Labor Day enforcement effort begins today (Aug. 21) and runs through Sept. 7.

As summer winds to a close the Batavia Police Department asks that you celebrate responsibly and have a plan. If you plan on going out make sure to have a designated driver, or leave your vehicle behind. Officers will be on duty looking for intoxicated motorists in an effort to keep our streets and highways safe.

While we spend the Labor Day holiday and the end of summer celebrating with our loved ones, law enforcement officers across New York State will take to the roads in an effort to stop impaired driving, prevent injuries and save lives. New York State Police, County Sheriff and municipal law enforcement agencies across the state will be out in force.

Research shows that high-visibility enforcement can reduce drunk driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent. Sobriety checkpoints play a key part in raising awareness about the problem.

Genesee County Undersheriff William Sheron advises: “The Sheriff’s Office has already made 33 more DWI/DWAI arrests this year than we did at this time last year. Clearly the problem is not going away. We are not limited to alcohol impairment.

"With eight Drug Recognition Experts in our ranks, we have the additional ability to detect those drivers who are impaired by both illegal drugs and misused prescription medications. This Labor Day Weekend, our patrols will be focused on removing all impaired drivers from our highways regardless of their drink or drug of choice.”

The STOP-DWI Labor Day Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association with additional funding from our STOP-DWI Foundation and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.

Throughout the remainder of the year the Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign will also target Halloween and the national Holiday Season in December.

While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol and drug related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers.

Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving. Have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend!

Ed Glow

Maybe because there are two holidays in December? New Years eve is also celebrated in December and last I knew the "holiday season" in December normally referred to both of them.

I get the inference to the PC thing about Christmas but I don't think that was the intention here myself.

Aug 22, 2015, 6:58am Permalink
Tim Miller

Hanukkuh is also in December. I'm not Jewish, but I recognize that the "holiday season" around December includes more than one religion's holiday, and that the "PC" phrase of happy holidays recognizes more than one subset of abrahamaic religion.

Aug 22, 2015, 2:15pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

Granted, usage has made these terms interchangeable. Holiday comes from an Old English word, hāligdæg, which means holy day. Festival comes from Middle English by way of Old French from the original Latin meaning feast. Celebration is an early 16th Century English word based on the Latin word celebrare, to celebrate. If we were living in Elizabethan England Christmas would be a holiday, Thanksgiving would be a festival and New Year's Eve would be a celebration. ...But we are not.

Aug 23, 2015, 3:17pm Permalink

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