National Safety Month

National Safety Month: How Buffalo Drivers Can Stay Safe in June

June is one of the heaviest months for driving while intoxicated arrests in Buffalo and across Western New York. Driving while intoxicated, or DWI, means operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs. National Safety Month runs all month and coincides with the start of the 100 Deadliest Days, the stretch from Memorial Day to Labor Day when crashes climb.

Here is the most important thing to know up front. If you are arrested and you refuse the chemical test at the station, you face two separate cases at the same time. One is the criminal case in court. The other is a license case at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Both run on their own clock, and ignoring either one carries real consequences.

This post answers the questions Buffalo and Western New York drivers ask most in June. Why have arrests risen this month? How stops and checkpoints work. What the chemical test refusal at the station really means. And what to do in the first 48 hours after an arrest.

Why Do Buffalo and Erie County See More Driving While Intoxicated Arrests in June?

Two things line up in June. Funding and the calendar.

Local enforcement budgets, state grant money, and federal traffic safety campaigns all land at once. The New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee funds extra patrols across Erie, Niagara, and the surrounding counties. The Buffalo Police and the Erie County Sheriff's Office add weekend patrols. So do town agencies like Amherst, Cheektowaga, Orchard Park, and Tonawanda. The Niagara County Sheriff's Office and the New York State Police do the same.

Then add the events. Most local high schools graduate in mid to late June. Father's Day weekend fills backyards and restaurants. The Buffalo Bisons play home stands at Sahlen Field. Concerts ramp up at Artpark, Highmark Stadium, KeyBank Center, and Riverworks. The wedding season runs full across the suburbs. Each of those nights ends with people driving home.

The result is more cars on the road at the hours when impaired driving stops happen most. Late evening. Midnight. The hours after the bar closes. More patrols are looking for the same signs they always look for.

What Is the 100 Deadliest Days, and How Does It Change Patrols in Western New York?

The 100 Deadliest Days is the stretch from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. National crash data has shown for years that fatal crashes involving teen drivers spike in that window. Local agencies use it as a planning anchor for summer enforcement.

In practice, that means more directed patrols on routes where younger drivers travel at night. The I-190 corridor through Buffalo. Route 5 along the lake. The roads around the University at Buffalo, Buffalo State, Canisius, and Niagara University. Stretches of Transit Road, Sheridan Drive, Maple Road, and Niagara Falls Boulevard.

It also means more visible enforcement on the holidays inside that window. Memorial Day weekend, Father's Day weekend, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day all bring extra DWI patrols. Some of those announcements name specific sobriety checkpoints in advance, which is required for a checkpoint to hold up in court later.

How Does a Sobriety Checkpoint Actually Work in Erie or Niagara County?

A lawful sobriety checkpoint in New York has to follow a written plan. Officers cannot pick cars on a hunch. They follow a set pattern, every car or every third car, listed in the operations order. The site is supposed to be chosen based on crash and DWI data, not on who lives nearby.

When a driver pulls up, the officer asks a few short questions. Where are you coming from? Have you had anything to drink tonight? License and registration? The officer is also watching and listening for the smell of alcohol or cannabis, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, fumbling with a wallet, or an open container in plain view.

If the officer sees or smells something, the driver moves to a secondary area. That is where the standardized field sobriety tests get run. The horizontal gaze nystagmus test, in principle, tracks eye movements. The walk-and-turn test by concept. The one-leg stand test by concept. The portable breath test at the roadside usually comes last. From there, it is a release or an arrest, based on what the officer documented.

Every step is reviewable later. The checkpoint plan. The location data. The officer's notes. The dashcam and body camera footage. The timing between each step. Whether the test was given as required by the training. Our traffic ticket attorneys look at all of it.

What Is the Difference Between Driving While Intoxicated and Driving While Ability Impaired in a June Arrest?

Not every June arrest is the same charge. New York sorts these by the strength of the proof of impairment.

Driving while impaired by alcohol is the lower-level charge. It usually rests on a lower breath reading or on signs of impairment without a high number. On a first arrest, it is a traffic infraction, not a crime.

Driving while intoxicated is the more serious charge. It can rest on a breath or blood reading at or above the limit, which is the per se theory by concept. It can also rest on the officer's observations and the overall proof, which is the common law theory by concept.

Aggravated driving while intoxicated based on a high breath or blood alcohol concentration sits above both. A child passenger in the vehicle further increases exposure. The charge the prosecutor files drives the penalties, the license consequences, and the strategy. Our attorneys look hard at whether the proof actually supports the charge that was filed.

What Happens If a Buffalo Driver Refuses the Chemical Test at the Station in June?

The chemical test at the station is the test of breath, blood, or urine that measures blood alcohol concentration or the presence of drugs. It is different from the portable breath test at the roadside. The chemical test at the station is the one that carries the refusal consequence.

Before the test, the officer is required to give the refusal warnings. Those warnings spell out the consequences. A refusal leads to an immediate suspension of the New York driving privilege. There is a civil penalty. A separate hearing is scheduled at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The warnings also state that the refusal itself can be used in a criminal case.

If a driver refuses, two tracks open at once. The criminal case moves through the local court, which may be Buffalo City Court, a suburban town or village court, or a county court if the matter is a felony. The license track moves through the Department of Motor Vehicles, which schedules a separate refusal hearing.

Each track has its own deadlines and its own decision maker. A driver who handles the criminal case well but ignores the refusal hearing can still lose driving privileges for an extended period. A driver who handles the license side but ignores the criminal case can still end up with a conviction.

What Should a Driver Do in the First 48 Hours After a June DWI Arrest in Western New York?

The first two days shape much of what follows. A few specific moves matter.

• Write down everything you remember: Where you were, what you ate and drank, the route you took, the moment the lights came on, what the officer said, every direction given during the tests, and every word said at the station.
• Stay off social media: No posts about the arrest, no jokes, no venting about the officer. Anything posted can land in the prosecutor's file.
• Do not talk to the arresting agency or the prosecutor without counsel: A call asking you to come in and clear things up is part of the investigation, not a favor.
• Keep every piece of paper: The appearance ticket, the suspension paperwork, the refusal warnings, and anything else handed to you all become evidence.
• Ask to preserve the dashcam and body camera footage: Police agencies delete footage after a set period. A written request from counsel stops that clock.

The dashcam often shows something different from the police report. Our attorneys ask for it early, line it up against the report and the supporting deposition, and use the gaps to build the defense.

How Does a First-Time DWI Defendant Try to Avoid a Criminal Conviction in Buffalo City Court?

There is no formula. The path depends on the facts of the stop, the roadside investigation, the chemical test result or refusal, the dashcam and body camera footage, the driver's record, the assigned judge, and the assigned prosecutor.

The work runs through pretrial motions and the pretrial conference. Sometimes there is a suppression hearing on the lawfulness of the stop or the arrest. Sometimes there is a trial.

A first-time driver with a clean record and a questionable stop may have a real opening. The chemical test sometimes shows problems with how it was given or with the instrument records. That can open the door to a non-criminal disposition. A first-time driver with a high breath reading, strong dashcam evidence, and a refusal has a harder road. Either way, the job is the same. Pull every piece of evidence. Find the holes. Build the strongest position before the next court date.

Can a Driver Get a License Back Quickly After a June Arrest in Western New York?

There are paths, but none are automatic. The options depend on the charge, the chemical test result or refusal, the driver's record, and completion of the impaired driver program by concept. The conditional license by concept, the pre-conviction conditional license, and the hardship privilege at arraignment by concept each have their own rules. Our attorneys walk drivers through what is available and what each option costs in time, money, and conditions, such as the ignition interlock device, by concept.

Talk to Trbovich Law Firm Before the Next Court Date

National Safety Month is a reminder for everyone on the road. It is also the start of a stretch where one bad night can change a year. If you were arrested for driving while intoxicated or driving while ability impaired in Erie County, Niagara County, or the surrounding area, talk to Trbovich Law Firm. Reach out before the next court date so we can get the evidence in hand and put your case in the strongest possible position.