"Drinking and driving starts with the first drink."

STOP-DWI .org

Victim Impact Panel (VIP) 

Please take a look at our Phone App!           

About Us

STOP-DWI stands for "Special Traffic Option Program for Driving While Intoxicated."  The STOP-DWI program was enacted by the State Legislature in 1981 for the purposes of empowering counties to coordinate local efforts to reduce alcohol and other drug-related crashes within the context of a comprehensive and financially self-sustaining statewide alcohol and highway safety program.

The STOP-DWI legislation permits each of the state's counties to establish a county STOP-DWI Program which qualifies the county for the return of all fines collected for alcohol or other drug related traffic offenses occurring in its jurisdiction.

Report drunk/drugged driving by dialing:  911 

Report underage drinking by dialing: 1-866-863-3721 (Confidential)               

For more information, contact Melissa Button, [email protected] or 315-386-2207.

Alcohol & Drugs Impair Driving

All aspects of the body and skills are affected when drinking alcohol:  brain, nervous system, judgment, coordination, movement, speech, hearing, and eyesight.  Alcohol and certain drugs are depressants. Reaction time is drastically slowed. Coordination and judgment is impaired. Vision and speech become blurred.

Since a teen's brain is still developing, alcohol has a greater effect than on an adult brain. Drinking alcohol before the brain is finished developing (in their early 20's) causes damage to areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory, which could contribute to poor performance at school or work.

There are over 150 prescription and over-the-counter medications on the market that should not be mixed with alcohol. Antihistamines and alcohol will increase drowsiness, making driving or operating machinery even more dangerous.  Over-the-counter drugs such as cold and cough medicines, antihistamines, nausea or motion sickness medications, pain relievers, decongestants, and diuretics can cause drowsiness and dizziness that can impair a driver's skills and reflexes.

Tranquilizers, sedatives, and sleeping pills slow down the central nervous system causing drowsiness and reduced reaction time, and impairing the ability to concentrate.

Click on links in the table below to obtain statistics and other information about the STOP- DWI program and visit the related links.

St. Lawrence County Traffic Safety Data Report -    Under Construction      

For answers to these and other alcohol-related questions, please click on STOP-DWI.OR

Ignition Interlock  

An Ignition Interlock Device (IID) is a breath analyzer installed into a vehicle to prevent a person from starting the engine, or in certain cases, to continue to operate a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol. Once installed, the driver must blow into the ignition interlock device before the vehicle will start and the machine will go off randomly once started until the vehicle is shut off.

• As a result of your conviction, you must have an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) Class Model 2 with camera installed on any vehicle you own and/or operate (any vehicle registered and/or titled to you) within ten (10) business days of sentencing or release from Correctional Facility. 

•  YOU MAY NOT DRIVE ANY MOTORIZED MOTOR VEHICLE unless an ignition interlock has been installed in your vehicle(s) including leased, loaned, gifted, borrowed, or rented vehicles.

• It is your responsibility to contact a vendor and pay for all associated costs with the ignition interlock.  Prices may vary between companies.  When getting pricing, be sure to ask about ALL related costs including, but not limited to, installation, monthly calibrations, lockouts and de-installations as of June 2020.

If granted a fee waiver by the court, the St. Lawrence County STOP-DWI Office will select the specific company for installation.  Fee waivers only cover installation and monthly costs. 

1. The monitor will be checking your NYS DMV records for motor vehicles that have been registered and/or insured for compliance.  If the monitor discovers a vehicle registered or owned by defendant and failed to install the ignition interlock, the monitor is required to notify the sentencing Court and District Attorney.  This includes motorcycles.  

If a vehicle has been sold, scrap, or junked, you will be asked to provide notarized documentation as proof to the court that you are no longer in possession of that vehicle(s).

1. By law, the IID Restricted Driver Condition continues on the operator’s NYS Driver’s License File through the maximum period of probation supervision/conditional discharge. 
    
2. Please keep the monitor informed of any address changes.

As of June, 2020

Child Passenger Protection Act (VTL §1192.2a (b)) 

Leandra's Law

Leandra's Law is named after Leandra Rosado, an eleven year old girl who was killed in a car crash after the driver, who had allegedly been drinking for several hours prior to the crash, lost control of her vehicle on the Henry Hudson Parkway. Leandra's Law, which became effective December 18, 2009, sets some of the toughest DWI provisions in the country. Under Leandra's Law: 

• First time offenders driving while intoxicated or impaired by drugs with a child less than 16 years old in the vehicle may be charged with a class E felony, punishable by up to four years in State prison. 
• Courts must order all drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated or aggravated driving while intoxicated to install and maintain an ignition interlock on any vehicle owned and operated by such driver for at least twelve (12) months. 
• Drivers who drive while intoxicated or impaired by drugs and cause the death of a child less than 16 years of age in the vehicle may be charged with a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in State prison. 
• Drivers who drive while intoxicated or impaired by drugs and cause serious physical injury to a child less than 16 years of age in the vehicle may be charged with the Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in State prison.
• Police must make a notation in the form of "C.I.V." in the "Description of Violation" section of a simplified traffic information if a child less than 16 years of age was present in the vehicle of the person charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated driving while intoxicated, or driving while ability impaired by drugs. The failure to make such notation, however, does not in any way affect a charge for a violation of the VTL provisions regarding driving while intoxicated. 
• Police must report a parent or guardian who is charged with driving while intoxicated or while impaired by alcohol or drugs while their child is a passenger in the vehicle to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

Related Links

Currently under construction