Holiday weekends mean more traffic, more road trips, and more troopers watching. New York’s latest enforcement numbers show exactly which habits get drivers pulled over, and every one of them is avoidable.
What Happened Over Columbus Day Weekend
The New York State Police reported that troopers issued 10,803 tickets statewide during a special enforcement period that ran from Friday, October 9 through Monday, October 12, 2026. The campaign was partly funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and included sobriety checkpoints, extra DWI patrols, and a focus on speeding, aggressive driving, and handheld phone use.
Statewide totals included:
- 4,605 speeding tickets
- 430 seat belt and child restraint tickets
- 274 distracted driving tickets
- 225 Move Over law tickets
- 200 people arrested for DWI
- 768 crashes investigated, 4 of them fatal
For comparison, last year’s campaign ran one day longer and produced 13,825 tickets and 191 DWI arrests.
Speeding made up more than four in ten tickets. That makes it the habit worth tackling first.
Lesson 1: Speed Is the Ticket Most Drivers Earn
New York’s basic speed rule says you can’t drive faster than is reasonable and prudent for conditions, and sets a 55 mph limit unless another limit is posted (VTL § 1180). For new drivers, a few habits make the biggest difference:
- Check your speedometer at every speed limit change. Limits drop quickly as highways become town streets.
- Don’t let traffic set your speed. If the flow is fast, stay right and let it go.
- Slow down for conditions. Wet leaves, early darkness, and fog all call for less than the posted limit.
- Leave earlier. Running late is behind a lot of speeding.
Lesson 2: Buckle Up, Every Seat, Every Trip
Hundreds of drivers were ticketed for seat belt or child seat violations. New York requires the driver and every passenger 16 or older to buckle up, and has separate rules for younger children (VTL § 1229-c). As the driver, make it your rule that the car doesn’t move until everyone is buckled.
Lesson 3: The Phone Stays Down
New York prohibits holding a phone for a call (VTL § 1225-c) and using a handheld electronic device to text, browse, or view images while driving (VTL § 1225-d).
- Set navigation and music before you shift into drive.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb, or put the phone where you can’t reach it.
- If you must deal with something, pull over somewhere safe first.
For more on why this matters, read the true dangers of distracted driving.
Lesson 4: Plan a Sober Ride Before You Go
Two hundred people were arrested for DWI over one long weekend. New York sets the legal limit at .08% blood alcohol and also prohibits driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs (VTL § 1192). If you’re under 21, the zero-tolerance law applies at just .02% (VTL § 1192-a).
- Decide how you’re getting home before the first drink.
- Use a designated driver, rideshare, or public transit.
- Never ride with a driver you think might be impaired.
Lesson 5: Move Over for Stopped Vehicles
Troopers also wrote 225 tickets under the Move Over law, which requires drivers to use due care around stopped emergency, hazard, and other vehicles. On parkways and controlled-access highways, that includes moving out of the lane next to the shoulder when it’s safe (VTL § 1144-a). When you see flashing lights or a car on the shoulder, check your mirrors, slow down, and change lanes if you can do so safely.
The Bigger Point
Enforcement weekends are the most visible reminder, but these rules apply every day. Drivers who keep to the speed limit, buckle up, put the phone down, and drive sober aren’t just avoiding tickets. They’re avoiding the crashes those tickets are meant to prevent.
Start With the Right Habits: The NY 5-Hour Course
Every new driver in New York has to complete the 5-hour Pre-Licensing Course before scheduling a road test, unless they’ve completed a 48-hour high school or college driver education program (NY DMV). If you’re 18 or older and have a photo learner permit, you can take DDI’s New York 5-Hour Pre-Licensing Course online. The NYS DMV-approved course covers New York vehicle and traffic laws, habits and skills for safe driving, the risks of driving under the influence, safe highway driving, and aggressive driving and road rage. Your completion is reported to the DMV electronically. Also available in Spanish.
Drivers under 18 applying for a junior license can’t take the online version. They take the course in a classroom or a live virtual classroom through a driving school, high school, or college.
Sources
- New York State Police, “State Police Issue Over 10,000 Tickets During Columbus Day Weekend Enforcement Period” (Oct. 16, 2026): https://troopers.ny.gov/news/state-police-issue-over-10000-tickets-during-columbus-day-weekend-enforcement-period
- NYS DMV, The Driver Pre-Licensing Course: https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/the-driver-pre-licensing-course
- NYS DMV, Online Pre-Licensing Course Providers (lists Defensive Drivers Institute, LLC, in English and Spanish): https://dmv.ny.gov/business/driver-training/online-pre-licensing-course-providers
- N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1144-a, 1180, 1192, 1192-a, 1225-c, 1225-d, 1229-c (via newyork.public.law, links above)
