DMV Deputy Commissioner on anti-drunk driving campaign

This week on In Focus, DMV Deputy Commissioner Mary Tanner-Richter highlights anti-drunk driving campaign.

Tanner-Richter details how drunk driving fatalities rise significantly during holiday season, with 34 deaths daily in the U.S. and a peak during the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer and holidays like Christmas and New Year’s. She discusses how even low levels of alcohol impairment can be dangerous. Tanner-Richter shares how over 2,000 fatal crashes in 2023 involving drivers under the legal limit of 0.08 BAC. She also emphasizes how symptoms of impairment include personality changes, louder speech, and poor coordination. Tanner-Richter explains how the campaign urges people to make responsible decisions, like by offering non-alcoholic options at parties, and call law enforcement if necessary to prevent drunk driving.

You can watch the full interview above. And be sure to tune in for a look inside the biggest issues impacting upstate New York, on In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.